


Book 1: Genesis

by Vildtiger



Series: Free Will of the Natoque [1]
Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Biblical Reinterpretation, Crowley Was Raphael Before Falling (Good Omens), Crowley is nicer after his fall, Family, Fluff, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Raphale is a jerk too, Wing Grooming, Wings, With A Twist, alternative universe- original world, angels are jerks, good omens - Freeform, there are many gods, too many angels and demons!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 109,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21850357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vildtiger/pseuds/Vildtiger
Summary: Raphael used to be like all the other angels, but only until he met the newest angel who was not like the others.then everything changes.Aziraphale was not like the others. He could see things nobody else could and that made him special and greatly disliked by other angels.Two angels turn into an angel and a demon.the two Natoque were not supposed to be friends or help each other.but they do and the Gods of the worlds are watching them.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Free Will of the Natoque [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574167
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	1. It begins with a Rebellion

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, my name is Nightangel and I am NOT the original writer of this account. I am Vildtiger's twin sister who decided to 'borrow' my sister's site since that is just easier for me.  
> this is not my first try on fanfiction but it has been ages since I last made one of these, so I am a bit rusty.
> 
> Genesis will be the first book of three and I do hope you will like it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> further explanation concerning this chapter can be found in the notes.
> 
> chapter image is made by me and can be found here  
> https://www.deviantart.com/fableworldna/art/Angelic-battle-826537400

**_Creations come in many ways or forms. The universe beginning has never been seen, or surely its end would be the same. Does the universe have an End or a Beginning? Does it really matter for beings who cannot live that long?_ **

**_Many have stories about the creation of their world. It could be a divine being who created everything just with the wave of their hand or in a fight with each other for the power of the universe.  
Others tell about the planets' creations come from fire and water.  
The one I best like is the one where the planet, the stars, and even the sun were created in seven days._ **

**_How amusing._ **

**_I know for a fact that no planet or star or even a moon is created on seven days, let alone seven million. Everything takes time. Time has no meaning for my kind, I still watch what time does to the creation around me._ **

**_Who am I?  
You already know that answer.  
My kind goes under many names, and we are seen in many forms. We are outside life and death, and yet we turn stronger when others are aware of our presence.  
This story does not begin at the very beginning, oh no. The creations of things do not happen with a snap of the fingers or speaking loud enough.  
Creations take time, and you are not here to hear how life began on this planet. You are here to hear about the Natoque._ **

**_You know them better as Angels._ **

**_They are seen as the perfect being — a force of my powers and my most loyal servants._ **

**_And yet... they are missing something.  
I tried to give it to some of them the gift of aspect. In this timeline, I gave this gift to an angel who I called Samael._**

**_Like the others before him... He did not take this gift well and once again a betrayal happens._ **

**_Samael poisoned the mind of a lot of the other Natoque, and they are coming..._ **

**_they are coming._ **

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**planet Quatos.**

**year unknown.**

**World tree.**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael was not born as a great angel. He was born just like the rest of the Natoque. He was Her creation. He was created to heal whatever She wanted to be healed.  
He was like any other of the Natoque. There was nothing special about him.

The angel of healing stood on one of the world's tree branches and watched the area were the watchers should have been stations. But they were nowhere to be found.  
He looked after the watchers who were under his command, but he could not see them at the moment.  
Annoyed that things were not as they used to be, he spread out his six mighty wings and dove down to find the Watchers who were under his command.  
Raphael was not born on the World tree. He was born in Eden at the foot of the World tree, like every other Natoque. Like any other angel, he has no father or mother. He could barely call the others his siblings.  
She was not his mother, either. She was their Creator, She was their God, and they were Her faithful servants.

He flew a bit farther away from the World tree to get a better look at his surroundings to look better after his underlings.  
He flew around the second sphere of the World Tree, the area was all of the Cherubim were located, and to Raphael's mild surprise; there was barely anyone there. Only a handful of Cherubim was around.

Cherubim were the Natoque species of the second circle. They were stronger build than the two other species and had far more eyes than the others, which were located on the face, neck, and each of their four wings there was strong as steel.

He recognized eleventh of them as his underlings.  
Like human soldiers, all angels have ranks. His underlings' sleeves showed that there were of the lowest Cherubim ranks. The Strongholds;  
They were the watchers, the observer, and scouts of the Natoque.

"my watchers!" Raphael called. All of them swipe their heads to look st him. Raphael landed beside them, "were is the rest of the Strongholds?"

"We don't know," the Cherubim named Avtotar said. Her white wings relaxed behind her back.  
Some other of his underlings nodded with her.

"I saw Ariel, Azazel, Gadreel, Kasdaye, and Ramiel flying with Amad-I mean Samael," said Saiinou. She scowled under her long wild mane of hair at Samael's new name. Raphael didn't like it either, he has already decided not to heal Samael if he got injured for insulting Her like that. 

"They are all Strongholds. His duty is with the Thrones and the Healers," Raphael stated simply. Even though Samael was a Powers(and a Seraphim) like himself, he supervises the two lower spheres when they were working on Eden. Raphael's own Cherubim underlings kept an eye after injured Natoques and reported back to him without fail and even though Samael also was a Healer angel, he did not have the Arch rank as Raphael have.

Strongholds were watchers, not Gatekeepers like the Thrones were.  
"did you see where they flew off to?" Raphael asked.

"no Arch Raphael, I only saw them flew through a portal to Earth," said Saiinou.

"Alright, that is all" all of his underlings bowed before flying off, going back to their duties. Raphael looked down at the ground under him without looking at it  
"Earth, what is so special about Earth?"

with a frown, he flew up to the crown of the World tree to report to his own Superior.

-

"Earth? They took to Earth?" Tiferet asked. Like Raphael, she was a Seraphim but is a far higher rank than he was. Her robe showed three circles, which showed she is a Lordships, the highest rank of the Seraphs. Like Raphael, she held a staff, and unlike him, she has a headgear looking like a crown. Both her staff and headgear have the theme of the sun.  
Raphael nodded his head.

"Yes, that is what my Strongholds underlings told me."

"God has plans with Earth. Amadeus most have followed Her orders," Tiferet said determinedly. She did have a shadow of unsure castes over her face. Raphael didn't question her. It was not his place to do so.

Without warning, a portal opened up, and an Authorities Seraphim in their celestial form(a six-winged serpentine which a holy glow) flew out like a bat from Hell (even though Hell were not invented yet), all Seraphs currently in the first sphere looked at them confused.

" **Warn God! They are rebelling! Samael has betrayed us!** " Abdiel yelled in his celestial form above them all, still flying towards Her domain, "I saw them! They want to destroy Eden and cast God out of Heaven!" He did not manage to say more before another Seraphim attacking him in the air and dragged them both to the ground.

7 portals opened up all over the World Tree and the Rebellion began.

It was not panic the first sphere Natoque felt when they saw all of this. They were angry that their brothers and sisters had betrayed them and will go against Her will.

All of the Lordships Seraphs yelled to their underlings to be ready to protect Her grace.  
Hod and Malkuth ordered Michael and Sandalphon(both Authorities) to ready their Avenging angels to battle. Both of them saluted before flying off.

Yesod and Netzach told Haniel(Authorities) and Gabriel(Powers) to take Abdiel with them to Her domain to warn her. All three of them blitzed in a blink of an eye to Her domain.

Chesed and Tiferet commanded Raphael and Nuriel(other Authorities) to protect the unborn fledglings in Eden against their rebellion brethren.

Both Raphael and Nuriel nose-dived from the crown of the World Tree to the small area called Garden of Eden just at the roots of the World Tree. All around them, portals were opened, and hundred of Rebellion Natoque came out with battle cries. The fight on the World tree and in the air began.  
Raphael avoided a rebel Natoque by a hair, but Nuriel was not as lucky, and she crashed into the rebel, and Raphael saw how they both fought in the air while falling to the ground deep below them.

There was a high risk neither of them would survive the impact with the ground.  
Raphael ignored the fight between the two and flew down to do his duty;

Protect the unborn fledglings.

-

Raphael cried in anger in what he saw;  
All the pods with a new batch of fledglings were destroyed. They had been cracked opened like an egg, and the underdeveloped fledglings lay lifeless on the ground.  
He snarled in anger. He could not save something which did not yet have a soul. Quickly he flew around the Eden to see if he could find any of the pods still intact, and by pure luck, he found one.  
But unfortunately, not for long, one of the rebel angels was on top of it, trying to smash the last pod as he did with the rest.  
Raphael recognized the other Natoque as Affalwhim, a Thrones Cherubim who has a love of turning into a bull of fire.

"GET AWAY FROM THAT POD!" Raphael roared at him. The Seraphim commanded his staff snake to aid him in battle and attack the rebel. His staff snake went after Affalwhim's eyes, and while the Thrones tried to fend off the staff snake, Raphael kicked him off the pod and then landed on top of the pod where he went down in a protective mantle position. Affalwhim landed hard on the ground, and while he tried to find head and tail of himself, Raphael took a quick look at the pod. The top and part of the side were destroyed, but the unborn fledgling inside was still alive and could still be saved.  
  
Raphael healed as much as he could before Affalwhim attacked him with an angry roar after he got rid of Raphael's staff snake, which lay in pieces further away. Both of them flew up in the air in their celestial forms;  
Affalwhim; a white bull with four wings and horns and hooves out of the fire.  
Raphael; a snake with six wings and holy lights around his chest and eyes.  
Both celestial beings snap rips and hits each other with everything they got.  
Both will fight to kill.

Raphael was a healing angel and a Seraphim. They were higher in rank than a Cherubim and far more agile and speedy, but they were not as strong in close combat as a Cherubim.  
He did his best against the stronger Affalwhim, but soon he crashed down to Eden with golden blood covered his body. He was severely injured from the Thrones horns and steel wings. Two of his wings were also broken after the other angel headbutted him hard.  
He could not hold his celestial form any longer, and he turned back with an agonized groan.

" **not so Holier- _than-thou_ anymore, aren't we?**" Affalwhim roared with laughter at him from the air

"How dare you!" Raphael snarled back, "why did you destroy the pods?! They are-"

" **I did them a bloody favor, Healer!** " Affalwhim bellowed and landed hard on the ground. He cracked an already destroyed pod into more pieces in his landing; he returns to his Immortal form "the Almighty has lied to all of us! She betrayed us first, and now we will destroy everything She has created!"

Affalwhim took a chokehold on Raphael, and fire surrounded the rebel's hand and the Healers' neck. Raphael screamed in pain, he did his best to fight off the Cherubim, but he was too weak by blood loss to fight off the other Natoque.  
Just before he was about to blackout, Affalwhim's grab around the healer's neck disappeared, and Raphael could breathe again. He heard a new battle began, but he didn't care about that at the moment, and with the last part of his strength, he healed his blistered neck wound before it could kill him.

  
Not moving from his position on the ground, he saw how Affalwhim fights against two other Natoque. It was two Archangels named Obgota Aabco and Kalqa'il. Both of them were Rulers, the highest rank of the Archangels, which means both of them were using weapons. He saw how the two Rulers and the rebels fight to lead them away from Eden, and soon, he was alone in Eden with only dead fledglings and a single surviving pod.

Slowly, Raphael came up on his feet again. He knew he was weak and will not survive another battle if another rebel came. He didn't care if he died or not. He needs to do his duty to protect the last pod. It needed to be relocated to a new place.  
He limped over to the surviving pod and cringed at the large crack on the side. He would have healed that crack if he had enough energy, but he also needed enough magical power to relocate the pod. He decided to Blitz.

Blitzing was a teleportation ability all of the Natoque have. It only worked as long the angel knew where they were going and have seen the place before — blitzing also only worked within a 50 kilometers radius.

Raphael touched the pod and blitzed himself and the pod to a new location, a cave with a small pool of Holy water. he has found this place by accident a few days ago but only now decided it was worth remembering it. He was sure the pod would be safe here at the moment.  
Raphael didn't remember collapsing onto the ground beside the pod.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Samael looked over the battle of his new army and how they destroyed the world around them. the World Tree was burning. Eden was ruined and angels and Rebels alike fall from the sky which the sky raining acid with so much blood spilled. Samael was the only one of his race who could see this destruction his fellow species did to the world around them but Samael didn't care. he wanted to see the world burn so She could see what She has done to him. 

How dare She doing this to him. How dare She ruins everything he believed in and then tell him to stop going back into her comfort.  
He hated her for this. He wanted her to feel his anger, his pain, and his betrayal by destroying everything with the help of other angels who felt forgotten by her. 

it have almost been too easy to turn the other angels against Her.

Samael flew towards her domain with Lucifer and Gadreel on each of his sides. Lucifer was Seraphim as himself. 

Samael slashed another archangel wings so they fall to the ground before he subtle looked at Lucifer. Lucifer looked like him. Same face, same hairstyle, and even the same body build. although Lucifer's blond hair was a bit darker than his own and Lucifer's wingtips were blue instead of green. 

Samael didn't see the other angel as his brother, only as a faithful warrior. 

Gadreel was a Cherubim and She has been easy to convert to his side. She has been angry at Her for a very long time and was more than glad to follow Samael into battle. 

All three of them landed close to her domain after Lucifer has killed the guard. 

"Nicely done Lucifer" Samael smiled. Lucifer only looked at him with bored eyes. Samael ignored his 'twin' and looked at Gadreel "stay out here and tell as many as you can to attack her domain. she Will fall today"

"As you wish, Samael," Gadreel said and flew off. Lucifer hesitated a little before he too flew off. Samael scowled at this but decided to ignore it for now. 

He went inside Her domain and while he could still hear the battle outside. Her domain was empty except for a giant tree branch angels walked on into the middle of a giant lake of holy water. Samael ignored all of this. 

"My lord, my Queen" he called out while walking into the middle of the lake "My Creator, I come here for you"

No answer. 

Samael sneered at this. 

"Where are you? Speak to me" he looked around after Her but there was no sign of her and this just pissed Samael more off "I deserve your full attrition. You cannot deny me this, you OWN me for this!"

Still no answer. Everything was quiet. 

Samael snarled and used his magic to summon fire which he used to explore part of her domain. 

'How DARE she to ignore me. HOW DARE SHE!'

"ANSWER ME! I AM YOU BEST CREATION!"

" ** _You are not my greatest creations_** ," an ancient voice said above Samael. He looked up and saw Her in one of her forms. There are no words in what She was and yet she could look like a tree with eyes or dancing leaves who watched him.   
" ** _You are the line between_** "

Samael sneered at this  
"You still adore those beasts and weaklings? We served You, did all of your biddings, and for what? To betray us?"  
he took a step closer to Her  
"to betray me?" 

He heard her chuckled. 

" ** _I only gave you commands because that is all you knew. You are nothing more than slaves to your own biddings_** " 

Samael roared in anger of this and with a single beat of his six wings, he was in the air and in his celestial form. 

He wanted her to BLEED. 

-

People tend to forget that not all advents take a day or a week, the infamous Rebellion of the angel race took years. People also tend to forget another thing about the Natoque;

they are powerful. So much so that they can destroy each other and every living being trapped in the crossfire. When they fight; they will kill everything around them and they will only stop when the opponent is dead. 

of course, the damage around them is far greater and devastating when they fight against each other. 

they will only stop than the other side is gone and to that time; it would be too late. 

The Rebellion nearly killed the planet they inhabited because of their fighting. they nearly destroyed the planet Quatos. 

They nearly killed the timeless being on the planet. 

so maybe it is a good thing that there exist more than one of these timeless beings and they came to the aid of their injured sister. 

Two other came to Her aid. There is no way to describe the forms they took because that would only downplay with how much power these beings have. Her two siblings were not known to the Natoque, they could barely see them when they came but at their arrival, the tide turned and the surviving rebellions were captured, branded, and then kicked out of Heaven. at the current moment, they were held in a pocket dimension by one of the Timeless until they have looked after their Sister and discuss the future of the Fallen angels.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I opened my eyes and tried not to move too much. The Rebels did a number on my physical body and it hurt like a bitch. the injuries will heal but since they were made from another powerful being, it would take some time...

Unfortunately. 

"you are lucky we were in the area, sister." my sibling to my left said. they were currently in the form of a giant snake, possibly the World serpent since I know they like their symbolize.

I didn't bother to take a form. 

"I am fully aware of that, Darlain" I grumble to my sibling. I decided to use their giving name from the World of Anuvina. Earth and Quatos have waaaay too many names for them. 

Darlain tilted their serpent head with awfully a lot of teeth. waste of teeth if you ask me. at least Darlain looked at me with sympathetic.   
""... you look awful. They really did a number on you."

"it will heal" I dismissed. I was not in the mood for a pity party.

"A lot of Natoque died today." my sibling to my right said and as always he sat as he were a military man even when the military was not even invented yet. I still blame him for giving the military the idea of stiff back because of him. I could see my darker brother was just as bad in mood as I were.   
"2200 is dead, 800 is cast out, and you have only 1000 angel left"

"told you it was a bad idea to let the Natoque get free will," Darlain said with that stupid grin they always wear. 

even my darker brother I will just call Darkna from now on looked just as unimpressed at Darlain as I did. 

"what do you want, sibling? I'm hurt, and I am very pissed off right now." I asked Darlain

"...sorry...." Darlain said

"you do not look sorry at all" Darkna pointed out. "and don't you think she hasn't looked? These fucking angels are dimmer than a doornail."

"HA! Good one." Darlain laughed. I have to admit I chuckled a little too. Darkna didn't joke often so it was a joy to hear him speak like that. Darlin looked more serious at Darkna who looked more like a giant wolf than anything. great, more symbolism "Have you checked the timeline? To see anything have changed?"

"The Rebellion is a fixed point. Nothing we say or do will change the timeline. it will always end up the same way and to be honest; I am tired of being beaten up so I say we just stick with this one" I told the two others point-blank. The last time I tried this, it ended up with a dead planet and me with even more injuries than I have now. 

"change has to happen later than," Darkna said and looked at me and Darlain "have you seen any glimmer of change in the timeline?

"were kinda busy, so no," I told Darkna flatly. he looked at me with a disdain look like an older lady would give to a rude child. I just gave him one back. 

"I saw something there might interest both of you," Darlain said. they formed ghostly hands and opened one of the timelines to show me and Darkna an image of a pod inside a cave and a half-dead Seraphim beside it. "looks like one of your newest ideas did survive this time. good thinking in having Rapahel 'accidentally' discover that cave"

"it was not easy, I can tell you that," I told Darlain. nobody has any idea how hard it is to make an Natoque go out in the world to 'discover' things. it's like herding cats.

I watched Darkna push one of his hands into the current timeline and gently take the half-dead Raphael into our domain, possibly to look him over to see how much life was back in the body. I decided to breathe a little more life into the body to make sure he survived before Darkna lay him back into the world.

"He has a higher chance of surviving now. I will tell some angels to go and get him back to the World Tree" I told them both

"and the Pod?" Darlain asked 

"that one will survive too, I didn't get myself chewed out for letting them die. Then I will make sure they are under the Healers protections." I said

"because you have absolutely had a bleeding heart, Adnima" Darlain grinned. 

"don't play cheeky with me, Darlain. I'm not in the mood." I said. since I didn't have any eyes at the moment I also saw Darkna rolled his eyes while I was still looking at Darlain. 

"fine. But at least give zhem 100 years before you, ahem, 'hatch' them. You know, just to make sure zhey are developing right in the noggin." Darlain said

"200 years should be better. A lot of repairs are also in need around here first." Darkna decided to butt into the conversation again and we also need to figure out what we shall do with the Fallen ones. I will not have them re-located to Earth. it was a disaster last time"

"what about Anuvina?" I asked Darkna. he didn't look overjoyed with that idea either. if I had eyes I would have rolled them hard "you know they cannot stay here without a second world end and besides do you, Kitas and Kantas stick around that planet more than the rest of us, so you should be able to keep an eye one them"

"I can keep an eye on the Fallen angels for you two" Darlain said with a thoughtful grin "You know; turn me into their leader of something like that. Not a leader they can see, more the visible kind- stop giving me that look." 

both me and Darkna knew that Darlain loved to mess with people. giving them free rein with the Fallen is just asking for another mass extinction 

"you will Only watch them. no leader role, no messing with their mind and No world domination ideas" Darkna said seriously to them. he showed how serious he was by turning himself into a miniature black hole. it was an impressive sight since he kept the mouth and added some extra eyes. 

"agreed," I said short. Darkna have already said what should be said. 

"you two are no fun" Darlain grumbled. I gave them a look again and they sighed "fiiine, I will be going then, later"

they disappeared like the earth itself swallow them. 

"I will re-locate the Fallen. do you have anything under control here?" Darkna said and this time he took the form of a raven with red eyes. he was tiny in that form but I didn't mention that to him. he probably already knows that.

"for now, yes," I said as my goodbye to him and he too disappeared like a lunar eclipse. I looked over my part of the void and decided to tell the angels were they could find Raphael. did need him to survive after all. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael woke up inside a pod.  
Not one of the pods in a garden. No, these were healing pods. Something the healing angels were in charge of.  
It was him; who was the superior of them, but since he was inside one of them at the moment, it was undoubtedly one of his underlings who did take the lead role until he was better.

The inside of a healing pod was full of holy water, which did help him a lot. He was not in pain anymore. He waited until other Natoque realized he was awake, they could not see inside the pods, but he knew that the pod itself would drain when it could feel he didn't need healing anymore.  
It took only a few seconds after he woke up before the pod drained itself and opened up like a flower to let him out.

One of his underlings came up to him when they notice him stepping out of the pod and redress himself in his rope there hang just outside the pod.

"You survived," she said. He noticed it was Zerachiel, who was a Principalities, the second rank of the Archangels. She used to have a hood over her hair, but she has taken it down while talking to him.

"I did," he simply said. He looked at other pods there were in use "how many have we lost?"

"in the pods, we have only lost five. But we have lost over two thousand Natoque in the Rebellion."

"that is the third of the Host," he growled, "how many of the traitors are dead?"

"not enough," Zerachiel said, annoyed "they only lost two hundred of their own... out of the one thousand."

"is the Battle still going on?"

"no, they are all gone," she said, "the Almighty and loyal angels cast them out of Heaven. Never to return."

"good"

"they are not allowed to call themselves 'Angel' anymore either. She told them they would be called 'Demon and devils' for the rest of their existing" the archangel smile turned into a grimace. "She also told them that if they 'Repent,' she will allow them back."

"What is this Repent She is talking about?"

"I do not know, arch Raphael. Whatever it is, I do not want those ang-demons ever back to the Host."

"me either, they are **unforgivable** for what they did."

Zerachiel nodded in agreement. Raphael told her to follow him so they could collect the other healers and restore the injured angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smaller notes concerning the chapter.  
> \- the hierarchy of the angels is not biblical correctly. Seraphim, Cherubim, and Archangels have been turned into species, not ranks. the different ranks and circles or the angel hierarchy will be explained in later chapters. 
> 
> \- the biblical text never tells how many angels there exists. what I could find it says there were over millions of angels or sometimes more. I was able to find the names of around 200 angels. not all of them will be mention in this fanfic.
> 
> \- it is said in some biblical text that there were around 200 fallen angels. a lot of those were called watchers. 
> 
> \- the 'monster' Raphael saw fighting with the rebel angels is called 'Nephilim'. it is said that a lot of angels were cast out for seducing 'women of man'. Nephilim is also sometimes called "Giants" for some reason.
> 
> \- the first angel Raphael fought against called Affalwhim. the angel name is made by me and is roughly translated to "fire of God". his demon name is Moloch.
> 
> \- the second rebel angel Raphael fought is Azazel. he keeps his name as a demon and he was taken down by Metatron. in some text he is seen as one of the 'five' Satans. the others is Samael, Lucifer, Mastema, Iblis and Samyaza
> 
> \- Adnima and Darlain looks like this; https://www.deviantart.com/fableworld/art/Adnima-758631030. https://www.deviantart.com/fableworld/art/Darlain-758454339. they are original characters of the universe this fanfic takes place.


	2. The first of his kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> image is made by me and can be found here https://www.deviantart.com/fableworldna/art/World-Tree-828719096
> 
> more notes at the end of this chapter.

light is the first thing he sees.  
Warmth is the first thing he feels.  
And he is not sure what kind of noise he first hears.

the fledgling Natoque blinks away the light and begins to looks around. He already knows what the things around him are called and how to speak. He also knows that the rope on the stone behind him belongs to him now, and he needs to take it on for common decency. He takes a look behind him and sees something there that looks like a giant glowing egg. He knew it is called a pod, and that is what he used to be inside while he was still developing.   
The glow from the egg slowly disappeared, and he was not sure what that meant.   
Maybe it went on standby?  
The fledgling looked around the cave; he was inside and noticed a small pool of water. With a little happy wriggle, he walks over to take a look, and for the first time, he sees himself. 

He has fair skin, blue eyes, and cotton-white short hair. He takes a look behind him to make a better look at his wings there started as white and ended in a blueish hue at the primaries. If he has seen the sky, he would say his wings look like that.   
Satisfied with his appearance, he decided to walk out of the cave and, for the first time, see the world around him.   
The fledgling smiles at the sun above him. He smiles at the trees and bushes in front of him, and he barely holds a giggle back when he looks at his feet, which were covered in dirt. He wriggles his toes a little just for fun. 

He hears the odd sound again and looks around to find it, and he sees the one who made that bizarre noise.   
He knew it was some kind of bird sitting just outside the caves' opening, but its name slipped him at the moment. 

"oh hello," he said politely to the bird who looked at him with beady eyes "fancy meeting you here, and I must say you plumage seems quite beautiful." 

the bird cooed at him.

"almost looks like mine. Well, except for the colors, of course," he spread out his fluffy wings to show the bird. The bird moved a little nervous   
"oh, I am so sorry to scare you, I will put them down again, so sorry."

he folded his wings neatly behind his back again.   
"say; you don't know what you are called, do you? I can't seem to remember it." 

The bird cooed again. He looked thoughtful at it. The bird suddenly flew off, to the newborn angel's disappointment. 

"Fledgling," a deep voice came from behind. He looked up to look at another angel. They were far larger than him and far more muscular too. Four mighty black-orange wings(two big and two small) beat behind their back, and orange eyes covered most of their cheeks, neck, and wings. It was hard to say if the angel also has eyes on the back due to the rope.   
They were also holding a scepter with the theme of wings on it and have a golden headband.   
Unlike the Fledglings dull gray robe, this angel robe has the colors of green and yellow. 

They were a Cherubim as far as he knew. The Cherubim landed with a small 'thumb,' and they looked odd at him.

"You came out wrong," they say as it was a fact.

"O-oh, I did" he quickly looked down at himself. He thought he came out pretty well "I do not hope it will be too bothersome, the rope does fit me-Auv!" 

the Cherubim have grabbed one of his wings to study his back, and a look of dismay runs over their face

"Only one pair of wings," they muttered.

"Careful, careful. They are delicate," he said a little before gently trying to get his wing out of their grasp when the Cherubim let go of it, he quickly folded behind his back. He looked dismayed at the other "that was highly unnecessary."

"It is my duty to figure out what to do with you" they completely ignored him and walked past him, "your fate should be giving to the Almighty." 

With those words, they folded their four wings out, and with one single beat, they were up in the sky. The fledgling looked astonish at the flight display, and he too folded his wings out to take flight. 

It was not as gracefully or mighty as the other, but it got him up in the air. The others barely waited for him when they began to fly in a specific direction.   
While they flow, the young angel was quite busy looking at the animals and greenery around him. He especially liked the birds with the white plumes. 

"oh! It was a dove," he remembered, and he couldn't help smiling happily over he finally knew what it was he had such an excellent talk to at the pod. The other cherubim looked strangely at him and he tried to explain;  
"the bird near my pod, it was a white dove. I just couldn't remember what it was called when I first saw it and its cooing was the first thing I heard when I woke up and-"

"The dove is not a good Mindless to have as a spirit," the other interrupted. 

"Spirit animal? Oh, I don't know I would not call it a spirit animal. It was just the first thing I heard when I woke up-" 

"Do not get attached to a weak Mindless, they are not worth our time." 

"...Duly noted," he muttered before looking down again. He saw himself in the water below him. He noticed his wingspan was slightly border than the other but around the same length. He also notices he had not as many eyes as the other one. He has four eyes in his face, but that was it.   
He was just about to ask something when he nearly lost his jaw of pure astonishment that he didn't notice the enormous white tree in front of them. It was so big that its top couldn't be seen due to the clouds blocking them. 

When they came closer to the tree, he realizes that the tree was home to more races of Natoque. He saw other Cherubim (like his companion) hanging around something there could look like giant tree mushrooms. He saw some with six wings and thought they most be Seraphim and others who nearly looked like him with only a single pair of wings, but unlike him, they have claws on their wings.  
Many of them looked at him when he flew past them, and all of them gave him odd looks when he waved to every single one of them.

"Stop that," his companion growled. He quickly stopped waving to all his new siblings and began humming a little, which luckily couldn't be hard by his companion. They flew up and up until they were at the heart of the tree, which gave up a certain glow and kinda looked like a giant bubble in the middle of the tree branches if you asked the fledgling. 

They landed on a giant branch, which led to something there could look like a glowing wall.   
In front of that wall stood another Cherubim who were far more colorful than his companion. The Guard's wings first started as yellow and ended in a rose color. Their robe was blue, and they were holding a large spear in their hand.   
The Guard narrowed their eyes when they came closer. 

"Who goes there?" the Guard asked. The fledgling found it odd they asked that. His companion plumage was a black-orange color, and their rope was very noticeable too. Not hard to see on a completely white tree. 

"I am Kerubiel," his companion said to the Guard "I am here to present the only surviving fledgling to the Almighty of the Failed Genocide." 

"Only surviving? Oh, dear," he muttered. No wonder Kerubiel has no idea what to do with him. He notices he stepped away from him so the Guard could see him. He smiled friendly to the Guard and waved.   
"Hello, nice to see you."

the Guard growled at him while they looked at him like he was something foul.   
"What is _that_?"

"None of your concern, Dumiel," Kerubiel said sharp. Dumiel nodded pointedly and let them both inside. 

The inside of the barrier was magnificent. There was a massive lake with water glows in a mysterious blue and green light. The large tree branches he and Kerubiel were walking on ended in the one of the corner of the lake like a giant hand, barely touching the mirror-looking water. Around the lake, there were plants of every type and form, and the loft of the barrier glowed in the same way a Northern light would.   
It was a beautiful place, the fledgling thought. 

"Creator of all," Kerubiel called out to the lake. He notices the other Cherubim's wings have taken a submission position, and he quickly tried to make his wings do the same "I, your faithful servant, come here today with a gift of a newborn Natoque who needs Your glory and grace."

nothing happens at first, and he was a bit unsure of what was going on before he felt it.   
Like feeling the earth itself quake or instinct deeply hidden barrel up like a wild animal, you are deep down like taking a leap of faith and then see the face of the cause of these feelings.

Then he looked up.

She was massive!

The best way to describe Her was calling Her a dragon and yet not entirely a dragon.   
Horns like a stag, and ears like a wolf. The hair on Her head and down on Her spine to Her tail was like someone took the glowing water under Her and made it to Her hair, and the marking on Her moss green body glowed like magma from an active volcano.   
But Her eyes, oh Her eyes as green as grass under your feet, green as the leaf of every tree. It was the type of green you will never see in any other being than Her.   
She was the grace of nature, and yet she holds every harshness of the wild too. 

She stares at the tiny Natoque in front of Her with a type of inquisitiveness only something as old as She could bear.   
And he could not stop starring at Her. 

" _ **Raise,**_ " the Creator stated simply to Kerubiel (who haven't noticed his lack of respect for forgetting to bow) Her eyes landed on him " _ **You are lucky to breathe your first breath, young one.**_ "

"Thank you. I didn't even know I was in any danger. Imagine that, me being in danger while I took a little snooze" he couldn't help but chuckle. 

She raised a perfect eyebrow at him.

"Mind your words, newborn" Kerubiel hissed low at him "you are standing in front of Her who gave you life."

"Oh, I-I I am sorry. Didn't mean any disrespect," he stammered. More to Kerubiel than to Her since She has already shown She didn't care how he acted. 

" _ **Kerubiel. Let me talk to him alone. Collect Raphael and tell him to come to my domain,**_ " the Creator said calmly. She didn't sound angry. Kerubiel nearly bowed all the way out of the barrier and he was finally out of the barrier the Creator said;  
" _ **you are not like the others.**_ "

"I am beginning to realize that" he muttered and quickly looked at Her "am I disrespectful towards you?"

She smiled

"N _ **o. I have a feeling you are what is needed to change the flow of time**_ " She walked across the water closer to him with the same smile over Her lips. It was a very mysterious smile, " _ **You** **will need a name and a duty.**_ "

" I see. Very early to get a duty, don't you think?"

Her smile widens.

" _ **Y** ** _ou_ are Aziraphale. A Thrones,**_" he felt a surge through his entire body. Like his name sat in his soul and bones. Aziraphale looked at her very green eyes. She seemed very satisfied with his look " _ **when your training is over. You will be the guardian of the Eastern gate of Eden on Earth and protector of humanity.**_ "

"Never heard about those"

" _ **They are not from this world. They do look a little like you. It will take some time before they will need your guarding**_ " 

"Oh splendid! And in the meanwhile, I will be trained to be their guardian?"

" _ **C** **orrect,**_ " She said," _**you will need this for your training.**_ "  
A flaming sword impaled the ground in front of a chocked Angel. It came out of nowhere.   
Aziraphale gingerly took the sword from the ground.  
" _ **T** **his sword carries my flames and my power. It will listen to your wishes and only you. Hold it well in the future**_ "

"Of course, it will be an honor to carry your flames, Almighty."

Her smile faltered a little   
" _ **You can go now. Your training will not begin in your first week of living. Your superior will be Raphael until further notice. He will teach you the art of healing until you are needed on the walls on Eden on Earth.**_ "

"Oh, right, of course, yes," Aziraphale could quickly feel She did not want to talk to him anymore. She was probably busy to create something new. 

" _ **Aziraphale,"**_ he felt his entire body shiver when She said his name. It was not a pleasant feeling _**" _ **your mind and eyes are born differently from the other Natoque. They will not understand you and do not like change. I will tell you now. Follow your heart and speak your mind. You will change the path of your kind.**_ " **_

He looked at Her while he thought about what She just said. It was a strange thing to say, and yet it was easy to understand. 

"I will remember Your word," he promised before walking out to an unforeseen future.

Only She knew what his future would bring if Both of them choose the right paths that are. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael's day began pretty typically. It has been decades since the rebellion, and he did not think much about that anymore. Healing and giving orders was that he did every single day and night. The only thing there was out of the normal was when Kerubiel came to him and told that God wanted to see him about the newborn fledgling. 

Without questions, he flew over to Her domain; there was in the middle of his sphere. With a quick announcement to Dumiel, he walked inside to Her domain.

Her domain was always incredibly bright, so he preferred to bow with his head lowered. He could feel in his core that She was close by. "You called me to Your presence, the creator of all and Arch of all Natoque."

" _ **I did,**_ " he heard Her say " _ **you did well in saving the last surviving pod.**_ "

"I only did my duty to you, my Grace."

" _ **of course,**_ " She said, " _ **to show my gratitude; I will send the Newborn under your order until he is needed somewhere else**_ "

"as you wish, my Lord."

" _ **His name is Aziraphale. He must not be harmed**_ " he looked at her with a frown but quickly looked down again due to Her bright light " _ **you shall teach him to heal, and he shall learn to fight for the right reasons. When he is done with his training, he will be placed on earth. Do you understand?**_ "

"yes"

" _ **I have great plans for him. Do not let anything harm him.**_ "

"I will make sure of that, my Lord."

" _ **good, he waits for you outside the barrier. Remember your new duty.**_ "

"I will, my Lord," Raphael bowed one last time, "thank you, my Lord." He walked out to meet his new underling. It didn't take him long to find the fledgling, and everything in his world turned upside down. 

Raphael knew that all Natoque comes from those pods and every, single, one, of them looks like each other of the three species; Archangel, Cherubim, and Seraphim. But there was no denying that this new one was different. 

It was like his brain just jumped out his head and decided to take a walk.

The fledgling in front of him almost looked like an Archangel. They have wings like one. Couldn't be that. They have six eyes and a bit on the heavy build. Then they most are a Cherubim, then. .But the eyes where too few and they were also... he did not know what they were, but muscular was differently, not the word. 

The fledgling, Aziraphale notice him and quickly walked up to him with a smile he has never seen on a Natoque before.

"Hello, you most be Raphael, so good to see you-" he didn't hear anymore, he was too busy trying to find heads and tail on the Natoque in front of him. Raphael's glace landed on Aziraphale's feet, but even that detail made his brain jump off the entire tree. Angels have different feet types; Seraphs(like himself) have feet like a reptile, Cherubim's have like a bull or a goat, and the Archangels have feet like a bird. This angel has not of those. The feet were flat and had... numbly toes. His glace flew up to the Newborns' hands, which fidget in front of their chest.

'No claws. All angels have claws! But not this one.'

"are you alright?"

Everything about this new fledgling was different. The perfection in the rest of them was nowhere to be seen in this one. It should have been infuriating. It should have been a disgrace to everything Holy. And yet. The only thing Raphael felt at that moment was something he has never felt before. He felt confused, he felt intrigued. 

Without thinking he lay his clawed hands on each side of the new angel. The fledgling froze. 

" Why do you look like that?" he asked to nobody. 

"E-excuse me?" the fledgling stammered and tried to pull away. Raphael refused to let him do that and pulled him closer to him by grabbing one of his wings.

"your wings. Your feet and your hands!" Raphael let his hands run up at Aziraphale's wings. he has never felt other angels wings this soft before and it was driving him mad.  
but why?  
"why? Why do you not look like the rest of us?"

"No idea. Was born this way." Aziraphale mumbled. it was clear that he was uncomfortable but it was ignored by Raphael who could not stop touching him. 

Raphael didn't realize that he had moved closer to the fledgling again to find some familiarity in his face. The eyes in the middle of the face were bigger than the other ones, and even his fucking ears were wrong! His ears were round and very visible. Cherubim don't have ears. Seraphims have long feathery ears, and the Archangel has pointy ears.

'Why do his ears look like that? Why does he have ears? Why are they no pointed? Will a Cherubim have pointy ears if they have ears? '

"you-eh... you have very nice looking eyes. Look just like gold, but please personal space," the fledgling suddenly said meekly and took a step away from him.   
this time Raphael let him go. 

'why does he think my eyes are gold? Why did he say I look like? Why Gold? What is _Gold_???? '

Before he could even voice just one of his waterfall of new questions, he remembered he must attend to and decided to shove this odd feeling down. 

"Come with me. You need to see your companions you will train with" Raphael went into his superior persona, and Aziraphale nodded understanding behind him "you will title me as your Arch. You shall always state me as Arch Raphael. You do not take orders from any other Seraphim except for me. Do you understand?"

"Clearly" 

"good, follow me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> extra notes 
> 
> \- Aziraphale looks like what most people think when they heard the word "Angel". he almost looks like what he looks like in the TV series, except his wingtips are sky blue and he has extra eyes on the cheeks. 
> 
> \- the 'Eden' is not the Garden of Eden on Earth. this Eden acts more like a giant incubator for the angels. in this fanfic, the angels are so terrible at coming up with names that they just re-used the name to the younger Earth Eden. 
> 
> \- the World tree is based on many myths of giant trees. the ones take most after is Yggdrasil from Norse mythology. Tree of Life from Christian mythlogy and Gaokerena from Persian mythology.


	3. As many Questions as there are stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So many questions.... so little patience

Working under Raphael was not bad; it was not perfect either if someone asked for Aziraphale's opinion.

Nobody ever did so it didn't matter.

Working with the other Cherubim under Raphael supervision were not bad, they did give him some odd looks(all did that when they first met him), the other angels soon ignored his appearance, and they worked pretty well with him. They did treat him with some respect(Aziraphale have a feeling it was because he was a higher rank than them, but he tried not to let that bother him), so that was good.  
Being with the healer angels was not bad either; he was more than happy to learn all sorts of healing abilities and how to make water into Holy water. Being part of the Healer angels was what he best liked been under Raphael's supervision.

What he did not like was the Guardian swords training. The Dominions Cherubim, named Zadkiel, were ruthless towards him and didn't care he only come into this world only a ten years ago; she only cares to make him into a warrior.

"Stop holding yourself back, Aziraphale" Zadkiel barked and slashed Aziraphale over the left shoulder with her flaming dagger. The fire of the holy weapons was the only thing there could hurt them, and Aziraphale yelped in pain when the fire hit his skin and was kicked to the ground by the other.

Zadkiel was not pleased by his display.  
"We do not show mercy unless we are told to. We follow Her orders, and while you are under my wing, you will follow mine."

"O-of course, silly me," Aziraphale said while getting up. He was holding his hand over the shoulder, which bleeds badly. It would turn into a nasty wound if he left it alone, which was highly unlikely. "I will try better next time."

Zadkiel glared at him. She was one of the Cherubim who did not hide her displeasure of him.

"You better. It is my duty to train you, and you have shown nothing but disgrace with your lacking performance. Heal your wounds and make yourself ready."

Aziraphale took his time to heal as many of his bruises and wounds as he could before facing her again. She came at him with no mercy, and he quickly blocked her attack. She snarled, (she hated when he went into deference), she pushed him back and flew up in the air to attack him from above. Aziraphale manages to jump away, and she missed it. He managed to nick her wing with his flaming sword.

"Better, but not good enough," she said and smacked his sword hand with outstretched claws. He dropped his sword in pain and surprise. This display did not sit well with the other Cherubim. She grabbed him by the robe and snarled into his face;  
"We do NOT make ourselves vulnerable to attacks!"

"I-"

" **E** **nough** "

Both Cherubim looked at Raphael, who has watched them. Aziraphale felt embarrassment for this realization.

"He needs to be taught a lesson, Arch Raphael," Zadkiel said harshly, she did not let go of Aziraphale "it is my duty-"

"your duty is to _train_ him, Cherubim!" Raphael hissed, and all of his six scarlet-golden wings flared up in a display of dominance "I am the only one who shall teach him a lesson, I am his Arch. You'll only train him, **is that clear?!** "

Zadkiel lets go of Aziraphale robe and lowered her head and wings in submission  
"of course, Arch Raphael."

"Good, Aziraphale, walk with me," he turned around to walk away. Aziraphale gave a quick look at Zadkiel before running after the Seraphim. They were silent while they walked, and Aziraphale makes sure to stay behind his superior. The problem was; Aziraphale didn't know how to feel about his superior. He was an excellent teacher and did protect him against the more hostile Natoques, but he was harsh and cold to be around and have an odd habit in touching his feathers everything he got too close to him.   
Aziraphale didn't mind the touching. He wants Raphael's attention, but it was clear that Raphael himself disliked giving him attention for reasons Aziraphale didn't know. 

"Why are you holding yourself back?" Raphael asked when they were alone. Aziraphale thought about this question for a little while before he said truthfully;

"I do not like to fight. it feels wrong."

"it... feels wrong?" Raphael stopped up to look at him. He always got this odd spark in his golden eyes. That was one of the few things Aziraphale liked about Raphael. The spark made his eyes look alive. Until Raphael got his head straight, and they too turned as cold as the rest of him, "we are Natoque, we are created to serve Her."

"But I am also a healer like you are. A healer is supposed to help others, not harm them," Aziraphale said primly, his wings flared by accident. Raphael growled at him and grabbed his wings harshly

"No, you are a **Guardian** angel. You are part of Her plan. She told me to teach you to heal and make sure no harm comes to you," Raphael growled. his hold on his wings turns more gentle while the Seraphs fingers moved up and down his feathers. Aziraphale tried not to show any emotion of the gesture since the last time he did, Raphael got angry and pulled one of his feathers out "to make sure no harms come to you, you will fight, so you are not defenseless when the foul demons attack us again."

"it takes two to start a war, and I will not be the one starti-"

" **enough!** " Aziraphale shrunk under Raphael's angry snarl, he felt one of his feathers were once again plucked out. the Seraphim towered over him, and no mercy was found in his body. Aziraphale was pretty sure he would have hit him if he had not gotten direct orders not to harm him. the feather plucking was normally accidents "you will learn to fight, you will learn not to show mercy, and you will learn to kill. do you understand?"

The Seraphim hold his glace at him in a pliant display of dominance. Aziraphale did not like the idea of killing, but he also knew he has no changes against Raphael, and he didn't want to see what is going to happen if he pushed too many bottoms.  
So he lowered his head and wings in submission and said defeated;

"loud and clear... Arch Raphael."

Satisfied, Raphael folded his wings and told Aziraphale to got back to training.  
Aziraphale did, and at the end of the day, he was once again full of bruises and wounds.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael was not overly happy(as 'happy' a Natoque could be, they are not a ray of sunshine after all) with Aziraphale results. He was a good healer and also good at swords fight but only when he went in defends. He was still terrible in the offense.  
The odd Cherubim attitude was also tiresome. He always wanted to talk to others and did that pesky wriggle when he was excited. Raphael hated it!

And yet... he found it morbidly intriguing.  
Everything about Aziraphale was intriguing. He stuck out like a sore thumb. His moral was different than the rest of them and he always, made, him, question, **everything**.

Which just pissed him off more.

A large part of him wanted to snap the Cherub's neck and kick the body out of the World tree.  
Drowning would also be satisfied, or just a good old fashion kill by weapon since that idiot hated to fight back anyway.

But...  
a spark inside of him wanted to study him closer. To see how different he was from the rest of them.

'Did he only has one set of wings or did he have small unusable wings tucked under the robe? Why did he not wanted to fight? Why did he always go into defends in battle? Why was he always looking at the ground below like the rest of them looks at God?'

Raphael growled angrily; ever since Aziraphale was born, he has been questioning things.  
Things he should not be questioning.  
It was infuriating.

He looked down the inner circle of the World Tree where the large judgment hall could be found. He watched how another Fallen have been found between them and how they were judged for their crime. Raphael and many other Seraphs didn't flinch when the Archangel's wings were separated for the body as a punishment.   
the clipping of the wings was a punishment made after the rebellion. only Fallen found after the Rebellion was clipped to make sure they could never fly again. Raphael watched with no pity when the wingless Natoque was thrown out of Heaven via a portal to God knows where.

'so long they are out of Heaven, I don't care where they went' 

the trial was over and Raphael decided to find Aziraphale. he didn't know why, but he just needed to see him.  
and it bothered him having these feelings. 

-

Raphael flew back to the Healers area and he looked at the different healing pods and his underlings to make sure everything went as it should.  
To his annoyance, he notices that Aziraphale was nowhere to be found.  
With a frustrated sigh that Aziraphale was not easily found this time, he decided to search for the odd angel. 

Raphael didn't need to look for a long time. He found Aziraphale just outside the Healing area. He(again) stood at the edge and looked at whatever he was looking at.

"Aziraphale!" he called.

The angel in question quickly turned around to look at him with surprise.  
"oh... sorry, I was just looking at the stars, they are quite beautiful."

Raphael stopped for a few seconds with confusion, running through his head before he looked at Aziraphale's face. He was looking up again. The Seraphim looked up too and only saw a pitch-black sky.

"There are no such things as stars, Aziraphale. The sky has always been black closer to the top of the World Tree. The longer you get to the ground, the whiter it gets," he stated the obvious, he absent-minded let his clawed finger run over Aziraphale's wings. he couldn't get over how soft they were. even the feathers he accidentally pulled out he kept close "there is nothing special about them."

"Nothing special- "Aziraphale looked shocked at him and completely ignore Raphael's touch. The look made the Seraphim uncomfortable for some reason "you can't see the stars?"

"There are no such things."

"What about the moons? Can you see them?" he points at something it is invisible for Raphael.

"No"  
Raphael found himself looking desperately after this 'moon' thing he could not see. it upsets him and that made him angry. 

"The trees below us?"

"Of course I can see the trees. They pale in comparison to the Heavenly tree, the World Tree." Raphael growled. 

"of course, of course," Aziraphale said quickly, "but you can't see... anything."

"I can see plenty," Raphael said demissive. He beginning to feel annoyed at the Cherubim and consider kicked him off the edge, but his duty went against this, so he didn't "you will go back to your training now. No more..."  
he looked confused at the black sky

'what was he looking at? What is a star? What is the moon? Is there more than one moon and one star? What is so special about them to make him look at it like that? Why couldn't he see it? '

"-No more 'star' gazing," he ordered while he shook his head to make it stop spewing out questions.  
Aziraphale gave him a sad look before he quit "Yes archangel Raphael" before walking off.  
Raphael did not follow him at first. His mind would not stop nagging him with one question;

'Why can't I see things? '

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I flew with the wind of each continent and listen to the gave life to the new mothers in the world. autumn was normally the busiest time for me due to animal kingdom getting busy this time at the year. Giving souls to the mother to carry was an easy job. the new mother did all of the worlds to conceive a new body to them. 

Evolution is one of my favorite hobbies. 

  
"Adnima" I heard one of my brother's calls in the air. I decided to see what he wanted and flew back to the ocean where he normally hangs out.   
he was pretty easy to find since he has taken form as a blue whale. I took form as a white one beside him so we could talk in peace. 

"What did you found Aesire?" I asked him while we swim lazily beside each other. 

"I found something you might like," he said and dived under the water. 

"and that is?" I asked him while I follow him to the depth

"one of your Seraphim are beginning to act strange. They might be someone you will work with." Aesire said. I looked at him in mild surprise. Aesire didn't really like the Natoque, he found them too hostile.

"I am surprised you kept taps on one of them. what made you change your mind?" I asked him while I swim around him. 

"I heard him in the rain. but are you not interested? I thought you would love to get just one of them to see." he said while looked at me with slight amusement. 

"don't be an idiot, Aesire. Of course, I am interested, but I now know they need to come to me."

"oh?" Aesire has to lead me to the bottom of the ocean. no normal whale could go down on these depths. of course it didn't bother us since either of us were real whales. 

"last time was an absolute disaster. This time I will wait for them. The cherubim Aziraphale is perfect to steer up confusing things between the Natoque." I updated him while we looked at sea stars and other bottom dwellers who ate a dead shark. it looked like a shark. we both ignored the common thing of life. 

"This Rapahel fellow is around Aziraphale all the time. I have a feeling he is bound to the white one in some way. can't check the emotions, because of the block" Aesire said and turned in to something there does not exist on planet Earth. he looked stupid with wings underwater. rest looked kinda aquatic to me. 

"well, that is interesting. If we play our cards right, He will play a major role in Earth in the future" I decided to once again to follow his example and turned into something would later be fear in the still not invented Greece. 

"Even better. They will see and then-Boom the timeline will change for the better. I hope it is the timeline with pencils. I love that invention. So much creativity you can do with such a little thing." he laughed, absolutely scared the last daylight out of the bottom dweller who fled as fast as they could. 

"you only like the idiom; the pen is worthier than the sword." I pointed out

"I like both things. Shall I keep an eye on your little Seraphim?" Aesire asked. it was a generous offer but I shook my heads at him. 

"no, let him come to me."

"fine, I think I will go back to Anuvina. See if our other siblings are up too. Maybe Kitas wants to see me?"   
  
I nodded to him with multiple heads full of teeth.   
"if you see her, tell her 'close you fucking portals after yourself' from me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- only high ranking angels are allowed to have weapons. all three ranks of the Seraphs have weapons since they are the highest circle. In the Cherubim circle, it is the highest and middle rank who have weapons. with the Archangels; it is only the highest rank who have.


	4. Sauntered vaguely downwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler; he will not fall in this chapter. only being mildly annoyed.

'why why why why.'

Raphael flew around Heaven with no destination in mind. He was literally trying to run away from his thoughts, but it was the only thing he could not run away from. 

'Why why why why.'

Raphael was not aware of this, but he has had these thoughts for years now. They hammered at the inside of his brain like an annoying fly. 

'Why why why why.'

It has been like this, ever since Aziraphale came. Aziraphale could see things no one else could. Aziraphale did not want to fight. Always Aziraphale.

'Why why why why.'

it has not made it any better when he teaches the odd angel about the ranks and spheres of Heaven.   
It made everything worse. 

_"alright... Seraphim is in the highest sphere. Cherubim in the middle and the Archangels are in the third and lowest."_

_"correct. Now, what are the ranks of the Seraphim?"_

_"Uhm... Lordships, Authorities, and Powers?"_

_"correct. The Cherubim"_

_"Dominios, Thrones and Strongholds"_

_"Correct. Now, the Archangels"_

_"Rulers... Virtues and Principalities?"_

_"no, Rulers _ **Principalities**_ and Virtues."_

_"Right, sorry..."_

_"study better to the next time I'll ask you."_

_"right... Raphael, can I ask something?"_

_".... make it quick."_

_"why does the ani-I mean mindless keep dying inside the pods?"_

_"I... I don't know"_

_"there most be a reason why the Pods do not work on them. if we just could find a way to figure out more about them"_

_"why?"_

_"...isen't that what she wanted"_

_":..."_

_"do you know where we could look after that type of information?"_

_"... the scripture hall...?"_

_"the sounds splendid. now we just have to-"_

_"there is no We"_

_"but-"_

" _it doesn't matter!"_

_"I-"_

_"no, I will not hear it! Leave me be!"_

Raphael shook his head by the memories and began flying upwards at high speed. Desperately trying to get away from these thoughts. He should not ask questions  
'Why? '  
He should not ask questions  
'Why? '  
He should not-  
'Why'  
he should-  
'WhywhywhywhyWhyWhyWhy why WHY!? '

" **WHY!?** " He screamed to the sky, "I NEED TO **KNOW** WHY?!"

no answer. 

Raphael clapped his wings onto his body and let himself fall through the sky. The air in his ears deafen him but did not quite the questions in his head. 

'who can answer my questions? '

Part of him didn't care if he hit the ground.   
A small part of him was afraid to do just that.

'will She answer my questions?   
will she listen to me? '  
Raphael opened his eyes with a new thought. 

He needed the answer. 

With an almost manic grin of his face, he opened a portal just a few feet above the ground and nose dive into it and into Her domain. He did a hasty U-turn in the air before landing on the natural platform there was in the middle of the lake.

"Almighty!" he called over the lake "I need to talk to You!"

Raphael heard Her before seeing her. She floated down to him but stayed just above the water.  
He felt Her piecing glace on him, and he quickly bowed for Her to show Her some respect.

" _ **Raphael, you have questions**_ ," She stated simply.

" I... I..." what was he doing?! He just comes banging into her domain and pretty much-demanding answer to his hundred of questions. He shook to the core when he thought about the punishment there waiting for him for his stupidity. He should never have come here.   
Raphael folded his wings around him in the hope of protecting himself for Her eyes," I h-have."

" _ **Why are you hiding for my presence Angel? Are you scared of me?**_ "

" your angels are not supposed to ask questions. We are meant to obey you," his voice trembled a little," and yes, I am scared of you."

" _ **why? You are not supposed to be scared of me**_ " he glanced up in her eyes with shock before lowering his eyes again" _**why are you afraid of asking questions?**_ "

" it is not right."

she was silent for a moment before saying;  
" _**what is right and what is wrong? Is knowledge a sin, or is it a blessing? When does the line blur together? Can you answer me that, Raphael?**_ "

" I don't know... only You know this answer."

" _**do I?**_ "

" of course. You know everything. That is why I come here in the first place."

He could feel Her eyes on him, and he didn't dare to look up. It was like she studied him for some reason he did not know why. 

" _ **Raphael. What color are your wings?**_ " She finally asked

" they are white" he immediately said

" _**then why do you ask questions?**_ " 

He felt very uncomfortable by Her glace and tone. It was like She was digging for something, and it made him want to run and hide under the nearest rock he could find. 

" I don't know. Forgive me for my-"

" _ **I cannot give you the answer. You will need to be able to See first before your questions can be answered. You will have to seek the Sight of seeing the answer out for yourself**_ " She interrupted he plead." _**go to the ground, Raphael. Your answer will be down there.**_ "

A large portal opened up between him and Her. He could feel it lead down to the ground of the mindless. A place he only has been to by Her orders. He quickly glace at Her for an order.

" _ **go to the ground, Raphael, and change everything.**_ "

he folded his six wings out and flew down to the ground for his answer to the questions he so desperately wanted to be answered. 

If he had eyes in the neck like a Cherubim or have turned to look at Her before the portal closed behind him. He would have seen Her smile mysteriously at the outcome of the current timeline. 

-

The was dry and dull looking if you asked the angel. Sure, there were trees, bushes, some big rocks, and some places there were even waters. The only thing the angel could see was naked trees and shrubs and rocks(as he kindly described mountains) was nothing to a holy being like him to fly over, and the water didn't even glow as Her pond does.   
He couldn't see why he needed to be down here.

Raphael keeps flying slightly downwards to find an excellent place to begin his search. But those pesky tiny Worlds trees where everywhere and makes it hard for him to land safely. 

He ended up landing at a lake where he spooked at a lot of the Mindless away. Even though they rarely saw an angel, they could see and feel that angels are predators, and it was just best to stay away from them just to be one the safe side.   
Raphael looked at the lake and the fleeing Mindless and found nothing there satisfied his search for an answer. With a sigh, he finally went into the cluster of the smaller trees to see he could find his answer. 

He had no idea how long he wandered aimlessly around. It could be hours for all he knows. Nothing down here could answer his questions, everything down here just annoyed him more. 

" What am I even down here?" he asked to no one" what am I suppose to do?"

no one answered him.

" a sign, just any sign would be enough!"

no one yet again answered him.

He groaned in annoyance and continued his search. But he suddenly stopped and looked at a certain mindless there looked at him.   
For an angel, all animals looked the same. He could not see if the animal in front of him was a cat or a bear. He could only see that this animal (or a mindless as he put it) was pretty small.

What he was looking at without knowing was something there looks like a squirrel, but its eyes glowed a very familiar glow. 

Raphael went down on his knees when realizing he stood in front of the Creator. 

" forgive me Almighty; I did not kno-"

" _ **I am not Adnima,**_ " the other Creator said. It almost sounded amused. 

Raphael frowned and slowly came upon his feet. He was so confused.

" yo-you are not Her? there is more than one Creator?" his questions came out before he could think" my apologies, I-"

" _**stop asking for forgiveness. It is incredibly annoying, Jeesh,**_ " They said. Raphael's frowns got even more profound, and he could swear he saw the other Creator's smile got bigger" _ **I am her sibling, and I prefer to go under the name Darlain. Yes, there are more of us, but only two on this planet.**_ " 

" then I should also show you respect. You must be my Creator too."

" _ **I did not create the Natoque. Told her more than once you lots are a waste of time and just plain dumb.**_ "

" what?" Raphael felt incredibly insulted. "we are not a dumb idea; we are the perfections."

" _ **perfection, eh?**_ " Darlain laughed. They moved close to him," _**yeah, you are the perfections. You do not think on your own, and you are Blind to the world around you and that Blind is with a capital B if you wanted to know feather-brain**_." 

" I am not blind. I can see it!"

" _**can you now? What color are your wings then?**_ "

" they are white," he said proudly "just like She made them"

" _ **riiiight~ You are blinder as the worm crawling at your feet and more colorblind than a snake**_ " Darlain laughed," _**go back to your perfect little world to your perfect job and keep living your perfect life.**_ "

" bu-but-" Raphael spluttered. 

" _**but what? What more do you want?**_ "

"I want my question answered!"

" _ **oh? You want to know what colors are; you want to see what the little oddball can see, be like zhem? Is that it? You can ask as many questions your cold cold heart can handle, and they will never be enough. Your lot are soldiers waiting for orders from a higher power. You never ask questions. If my kind tells you to jump to your doom, you will do it without a thought. You do anything we ask you too. You are, after all, the perfections**_."

"..."

" _**go back to your host Natoque. What you are searching for out here will only change you. You probably will not like that change, so why bother finding it?**_ "

Raphael has nothing to say against that argument. What was it he was searching for out here? He was already scared for those small change there had happened to his mind. 

'do I even dare to walk closer to the edge and see what is on the bottom?   
What if I don't like what I'm was seeing? '

He was just about to bow to the other Creator when he remembered it didn't like that, so he just ended up nodding toward Them before he walked back to the lake where he could begin the flight back to the World Tree. 

Behind him, the toxic-eyed Squirrel gave him a thoughtful look before disappearing into the deep forests where they came from in the first place. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale stood outside the hall of scripture, nervous fiddling. He was here because there have been some problems with the healing pods, and no of the other healers knew what to do. It was not like they could ask Raphael; he was nowhere to be found lately. Aziraphale saw from a distance the small creature(he thinks it was a rabbit, but not entirely sure) died inside the pods, and the other healers said it was normal. 

Mindless never survived the Pods, and they mostly just 'tried' to heal them because that is what God wanted. 

Aziraphale was tired of seeing this brainless killing to 'help' and decided the place he might find an answer to why animals keep dying on them would be in the hall of Scripture.   
All history was written down in there after all. 

With a determined huff, he walked inside.

The Hall of scripture was more a long hall than anything, full of glowing plates which were places in shelves made out of the World tree itself. Aziraphale was in awe how much information the Natoque have written down, but he was not sure where to begin.  
There was nobody to ask either. 

Determined, he just took one of the tablets on the nearest shelf and activated it.   
Winching a little after just got shoved a bunch of information about the World tree, like how it was built (by God Herself), how many layers it has (a lot) and how tall it was(as tall as some modern skyscrapers) just to name a few of those things the tablet told him.   
He lay the tablet down and tried a new one. 

Information about the Holy water

a new one closer to the roof. 

Information about three spheres

a new shelf

Allowed to use holy weapons.  
(apparently, they were made out of the fire of God Herself)

Longer inside the hall

"aha!" Aziraphale exclaimed when he got some information about the mindless, the name he knew others Natoque called other beings. The tablet showed him the different sizes on the Mindless and only two of them were named something else than 'Mindless,' which were the Griffins(who were also known to kill Natoques which Aziraphale kept as a mental note) and the Tekata who were weaker beings toward the Natoque and did have some similarities to the Mindless.   
Aziraphale waited for more information, but-

"that's it?" he asked the tablet. 

It just shines dull back at him. 

He tried to turn the tablet around like he tried to see if there were some secrets text behind. Then he decided to take a new tablet right beside the one he holds, which was a whole new topic.   
"That can't be the only thing we have on animals. It just can't be that"

Aziraphale decided to go look for a scripture angel in the hope one of them could help him. There was, of course, a risk of them kicking him out, but it was worth the try.   
He found an Archangel with green wings and a brown robe, who were placing some new tablets. Aziraphale flew over to him.

"excuse me, can I ask you som-"

"what are you doing in here?" the Archangel asked him with shock mixed with anger. 

"Hello, I'm Aziraphale" Aziraphale tried again with a friendly smile. The other one gave him an odd look(he was so used to those by now) and muttered his name is Ecanus "hi, I am just wondering. Do you have more information about the anim-I mean the mindless? I only found one tablet about them."

"We only need one tablet," Ecanus said, confused "why do you want more information about those things anyway?"

"well, you see; I am one of the Healer angels and the others keep killing the mindless they try to help- I am sure they do it on purpose, mind you, but I do think we need to... you know, know more about them to heal them?"

Ecanus gave him an odd look like he just grew two heads.  
"they die because they are weak. You lot only try to help them because it is Her will. It is not your problem; they keep dying, and it is only your Arch who can changes how things work."

"oh... I see..."

"Now get out before I get punish for your stupidity."

defeated, Aziraphale flew out of the Hall of Scripture. 

'That can't be it...' Aziraphale thought while he folded his wings out to fly back to the Branch of Healing.   
'there must be something I can do to-'

 _ **"little angel in the air**_ " Aziraphale almost dropped like a rock in fright when he heard the singing. He turned around and saw a squirrel sitting on of the smaller branches of the World Tree. It has an alarming grin. A grin there didn't belong to any animals "oh, what do you have on your mind, there gives you such despair?"

"em... hello, I didn't know animals could talk," Aziraphale said, he was still a little shaken up, and he also kept his distance since he did not like that smile. Not like he was going to say that to its face, of course. 

" _ **some of us can. But only to special people.**_ "

"oh thank you, that was kind of you to say"

" _ **hm,**_ " the squirrel hummed " _ **do you want to tell little small me? Why do you look so thoughtful?**_ "

"I... I am just thinking," Aziraphale said while fidgeting with his finger. The squirrel lay its head to the side like a creepy puppy, and its toxic green eyes stayed on him while he hovered in the air. 

" _ **will you tell me what you are thinking about? I hear many things from the top to the bottom of this tree. What I hear could help you, you know?**_ "

"you think so?"

" _ **hard to say before I hear what is troubling you.**_ " 

Aziraphale thought about this for a moment. Not like the other Natoque would believe him if he told them that he had a conversation with a squirrel anyway. With a shrug, he said the squirrel about his problem with how animals' healing, and there was no information he could use in the Hall of scripture.   
The squirrel listens to his whole tale. It sometimes asked for more details about certain things, but else, it just listens.   
When Aziraphale was done, the squirrel tipped its head to the side again.

" _ **It sounds like a minor problem is you ask me, animals die all the time.**_ "

"But we did get orders to-"

" _ **naaah, you didn't. You Natoque think you did, but your lot does not read between the lines**_."

"hmm?"

" _ **Adnima told you to take care of the animals, not to heal them,**_ " the squirrel explained, " _ **like learning to fight. You do not like to kill and all of that, but you should still learn it so you can protect those who cannot fight. Get me?**_ "

"oh, never thought about it that way," Aziraphale gasped "it makes me feel a lot better."

" _ **you're welcome. Anyway. The ground is the home for the animals. If you really want to know more about them. You should be on their home turf. Maybe you can learn somethings on the ground more than just some animal behavior.**_ "

"you think that?"

" _ **who knows? I am just a talking squirrel,**_ " the squirrel grinned mysteriously, and with those words, it darted up the branch. It sat in and disappeared behind the leaves of the World Tree. He decided to follow its suggestion, and then he flew down to the ground to do his study. 

-

Aziraphale landed gently near a lake where he saw lots of animals drinking. He decided to sit near a tree and study the animals from a distance to make sure he did not spook them. He noticed that many of the deer lived in groups and always kept an eye on the big cats on the other side of the lake. He saw small birds in the trees, and some of them floated around in the lake. Aziraphale enjoyed the calmness of the lake and did have in mind to come here again if he just wanted to get away from all the cold atmosphere of the other Natoque.   
Some of the animals began to move away from the lake in a nervous manner, and Aziraphale thought that maybe the big cat has stalked too close to them until he saw what made the deer walk away from the lake. 

It was a horse-sized creature with a head, wings, and front claws like an eagle and body, ears, and tail like a lion. It has enormous wings, and armor on its front legs told Aziraphale that this creature was intelligent.  
He also knew what it was. He saw an image of it on one of the tablets.

It was a Griffin. 

"oh, dear..." Aziraphale mutter terrified. The tablet told that they were known to kill Natoque, and he really didn't want his day to be run by those talons. While the fire red Griffin drank, he slowly stood up and backed away from the lakeside. 

SNAP

Aziraphale whole body froze when he felt the tree branch under his foot snap. He knew he was so good as dead now, and he looked at the Griffin, who looked right at him. 

'oh, Lord. I am so dead...' 

" _what are you doing here?_ "   
Aziraphale blinked.

"what?"

" _I do not understand your Tekata. Do you not speak Riah?_ "

"I-I'm sorry, I don't-" Aziraphale trembled and made a vague gesture towards his ears "I don't understand you, Mister-or Miss Griffin."

The Griffin tipped its head to the side with confusion. It walked over to Aziraphale, who did try to back away from it but tipped over the same traitorous branch from before. The Griffin manages to catch him before he hits the ground, and it really looked at him.

" _.... you bear the same robe as the Natoque..._ " it said and lifted him a bit over the ground. Aziraphale yelped in surprise " _you even smell like one, but you do not act like one. Did they kick you out of their nest?_ "

"p-please let m-me go. I don't want to be mauled by y-your.... very.... big.... cl-claws," Aziraphale whimpered terrified and gulped at the sight of its massive paws there were big enough to squish his head like a watermelon. He tried desperately to get away by flapping his wings from this known Natoque killer, but the Griffin has an iron grip on him. 

" _stop that,_ " it huffed, and its second talon grabbed his wings as someone would do to a large bird. Aziraphale was really stuck now " _you might be more useful alive than dead. You are the first one who does not attack me by the mere sight of me._ "

Aziraphale yelped again when the griffin holds him closer to its body while still maintaining a close grip on his wings. He got a mouth full of feathers. 

" _lets see what the others say about you._ "  
It folded its mighty wings out and flew away from the lake with him in his grip. Aziraphale did not know what the Griffin was saying, and he was not sure what was going to happen to him now. He only hopes it would not eat him or something worse. 

-

Aziraphale watched with wide eyes at a small village of humanoid-looking creatures. Some of them have ears and tail like a wolf or as a big cat. Others have wings like him or a bat's, and some of them even have horns like deer or goats. Aziraphale looked very confused about all of them. He has never been told there were other intelligent beings around. To his fear, he also saw two other Griffins. One of them was even bigger than the one who held him.   
A humanoid with antler like a stag and also legs like one, come over to them both when the Griffin landed.

" _FireFeather. What in the World is that you got there?_ " they asked. Aziraphale wished he could understand at this moment so he could explain himself. 

"a Natoque, I think it was kicked out from the White tree," the red Griffin, who holds him, said and gently put him down on the ground. Aziraphale would have run. If not, the griffin still had a grip on his wings. 

" _it does not look like the other. I think-_ "

" _a Natoque? Here? Are you out of your mind, FireFeather?_ " the bigger griffin said with an angry tone. Like the Griffin who hold Aziraphale, it has a red plume, but its wings and legs have a silvery shine over them. It walked over to them and have a murderous look. " _Just kill that thing already before more comes._ "

" _SilverStrike, wait for just a moment_ " the griffin who hold him made a very noticeable 'stop' motion with its free talon " _this one has been part of the Nest, we can finally figure out how their nest work and get an answer why they are so hostile_."

" _because they are stupid, that's why._ "

" _they are cable of speech. This one can speak, just not our tongue._ "

The humanoid with the antler came close to Aziraphale with a curious look. Aziraphale made a little nervous wave with his hand in the hope they will not eat him if he was friendly. The humanoid looked happy to see that and waved back with a word;

" _hi! I am Sukka_ " Aziraphale blinked, confused. The humanoid waved its hand again and repeated the word. Aziraphale finally understood that it said 'hello' to him. 

" _hi,_ " he said back with a perfect dialect. The two griffins looked shocked at him.

" _it can speak!_ " the big Griffin said and looked at him with a steal glace. He shrinks under its glace, " _what do the Natoque want?_ "

not sure what else to do, Aziraphale repeated what the big Griffin said to him, sans the demanding tone

" _it just repeats what we are saying; it does not understand us_ ," the humanoid said. Aziraphale thinks they looked thoughtful at him before looking at the smaller griffin " _we could learn it to-_ "

" _out of the question!_ " the big griffin said loudly and looked appalled over whatever the humanoid said.

" _why not? You wanted to know more about the Natoque. We have one of them right here with us right now. You don't get a better opportunity than this_ " said the smaller griffin

 _"you said it was kicked out!_ "

" _I **think** it was kicked out. _"__

 _ _" _Guys, please!_ " __said the humanoid _ _" _I want to study it. So I say we let it live._ "__

silence.   
Aziraphale fidgets nervously by this.

 _ _" _fine, but if it tries anything, I will personally snap its neck_ ," __the bigger griffin sighed for some reason.

The griffin who hold Aziraphale wings finally lets go of him. When he tried to fly away, he was grabbed and placed on the ground again. The humanoid waved at him to follow and not sure what else to do. Aziraphale decided to play along until he found a way to get out of this mess he found himself in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- around 20-50 years have passed since Aziraphale was hatched. it is never told since no angel is aware of what a year is, let alone a decade is. 
> 
> \- the squirrel is Darlain in disguise. They are based after the tales of Ratatoskr from Norse mythology. it is said that Ratatoskr slandered the Eagle on top of the world tree and the dragon/snake at the roots. the eagle and the dragon ended up hating each other because of what Ratatoskr said and they ended up helping starting Ragnarok aka end of the world due to this. 
> 
> \- the angel Ecanus only mentions here because I found it hilarious that their name sounded similar to my own half-elf character named Ecantus. the only information I could find on the angel Ecanus is that they are an angel of writers. 
> 
> \- my sister told me that the language Riah sounds a lot like humming or singing from a bird. the language Aziraphale is speaking is Old Tongue and only the Natoque and the Gods speak this language. no idea what that sounds like but I guess you just have to think about something terrible ancient and put a voice to that and then you have it. 
> 
> \- my sister's personal species of Griffins are Huuuuge and are called "mountain Griffin". she told me they are more feline than bird.
> 
> \- old images of SilverStrike https://www.deviantart.com/anuvina-fableworld/art/Silver-strike-371762159 and FireFeather https://www.deviantart.com/anuvina-fableworld/art/Fire-feather-309744184
> 
> \- Tekata is an original word me and my sister call all humans with ears, tail, horn, feet, etc. my sister VIldtiger draw herself as a Tiger Tekata.


	5. A hint of happiness

Raphael stayed in the World tree most of his time, where he tried to make himself busy. When his head got too many questions, he flew down to the ground below in the hope of finding the answer, but he never did. He always came back to Heaven, bitter and frustrated. 

He did notice that Aziraphale where nowhere to be found, and he did look for him, but at the time went by, he just kinda... stopped looking for him. 

'probably dead anyway,' Raphael thought, annoyed. 

It was not long before the Seraphim again flew down to the ground in the hope of finding his answer. As usual, he landed near the lake, and he ignored the spooked animals. 

"Raphael?" he turned around, and to his utter surprise, he saw Aziraphale with a unique basket at his side and a handful of identical plants. 

"what the hell are you doing here?" Raphael snapped in confusion, "I thought you were dead."

"you... you have been looking for me in the last seven years... for me?" the strange angel looked hopeful for some reason 

"of course I did. You are my responsibility, and it is my duty to-"

"oh... I thought... never mind," Aziraphale looked disappointed. Raphael could not fathom why, "as you can see, I am not dead. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"where have you been?" Raphael demanded. Aziraphale opened his mouth to respond; then he looked unsure and thoughtful before saying slowly;

"just, out there study things... I learned about herbs" the Cherubim brighten up and showed him the plants in his hands "look, this one helps against pain, and this one can be turned into an oil and-"

"They all look the same to me."

"oh no, here," he lifted one of the leaves in his hand "this one is darker than the rest, and it more jagged."   
he took another one  
"and this one is almost yellow."

Raphael has almost forgotten how much of a headache Aziraphale was. He always made him question things. Right now, his head exploded with questions on why he couldn't see between the two leaves.

"I.... can't.... see it," he gritted out. Aziraphale was close to saying something; then, it was like he remembered something. 

"oh... yes. You are blind."

"I am not blind!"

"you are blind to somethings," Azirapahale primly said. Raphael glared at him. The Cherubim shrinks under his glare, "sorry... Arch Raphael."

"let us go back to Heaven now," he turned around to fly back. He was already tired of all of this. Aziraphale didn't follow. 

"wait... ehm... I am not ready yet," Aziraphale looked hopelessly around. Then he looks landed on the plants in his hands "I need to collect more of these first. To healing study. Please just... eh... just give me an hour and-"

"I will wait for you here," Raphael stopped his rambling. He did not know what is wrong with him. He mostly wanted to get out of this place and back to the World Tree, but he could not leave the odd angel behind. He would go against his duty. 

"oh, thank you; I promise to come back as soon as possible," he said with a smile before he ran off. Raphael just rolled his eyes, and a small part of him was happy he was still alive.   
The most significant part of him wished he would have stayed gone, so his questions stayed away too. 

-

Aziraphale did come back a little under an hour, and Raphael couldn't stop questioning him what he was doing out there for so long. Aziraphale kept giving him a vague answer, so Raphael finally decided it was not worth the headache to keep trying. Back to the World tree and when they both landed, Aziraphale immediately walked over to one of the tables and took out all of the strange satchel (which he still had with him for some reason) content and began to... work on them. It took everything in Raphael not to walk over to see what in the world he was doing. Still, after circled him from a distance for a little over two hours, he finally gave in to his curiosity and walked over to look over Aziraphale's shoulder. 

He was making powder over of some of the plants by crushing them and then laying into Holy water. He then began on something else, and Raphael looked confused at the Holy water/plant mix. It occurred to bobble for some reason. He saw Aziraphale take some round things off one of the branches and mashed them into slime. Curious got the better of the Seraphim, and he tried to touch the slime.   
Aziraphale quickly grabbed his arm.

"don't touch it. I need to boil it first," he said and quickly let go of Raphael's hand when he growled "sorry, about that. But it is very poisonous like this"

"then why are you making it if it is poisonous?"

"it is poisonous now, but when boiled and mixed with Grenron; it will turn into an analgesic mixture. I do hope by boiling it in Holy water; it would also turn its fast healing."

Raphael gaped at him.  
He was so confused

"Why...?" he asked. Aziraphale smiled

"not all creatures heal like us."  
He went over to a mindless they have in pen. Took it up, looked it over, then he set it down on the table and healed one of its legs.   
"there, now it can be released to the ground." 

Raphael's brain screamed so many why's that he was sure smokes comes out of his ears

"broken leg," Aziraphale shrugged.

"you can see what is wrong with them?"

"yes," he said and walked over to the pen again. He pointed at one of the bigger ones "this one is sick. Might need to give it some of my herbs."

Raphael looked at the bigger mindless and decided just to roll with it. He pointed at a new one  
"what about that one?"

"old age. Not much we can do about that." 

"alright. Anpiel, release that one, and the one Aziraphale is holding back to the wild." 

"yes, Arch Raphael," said Anpiel and took the mindless from Aziraphale. 

"I don't know how you are doing this, but you did well. This will be your new duty until the times comes for you to stay at New Eden."  
Raphael looked at Aziraphale with something there was very close to a proud smile. The strange angel was finally used to Heaven. The cherubim wriggled a bit under his glace for some reason.

"thank you. I promise I will do my best."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The new working conditions were not bad; they were great. Aziraphale felt noticed and was not anymore the odd one out. He was respected as a healer there could see the unknown, and it helped the others. He was also getting better in fighting so Zadkiel was not so much after him anymore, which was a big bonus.   
Raphael had made sure that all animals they found were either giving to Aziraphale or looked over by him. Only very few animals now died under the Healer angels care, and even Raphael began to turn a bit nicer towards him. 

It was nice to be noticed, especially by Raphael himself. 

Aziraphale has always known that he liked the Seraphim. He loved it when he asked questions and had that certain spark it the eyes there made his eyes look like molted gold. He has always kinda hoped that Raphael spent as much time around him because he liked to be around him, but he knew that was just wishful thinking. 

He was not so sure anymore. 

Ever since he(after he was done being scared to death by them) spent three years with the Tekata(he humanoid told him that is what they called their race) and they teach him everything they knew about the nature around them(and he tells them how the Natoque society worked) after they have taught him their languages of course.   
He swallows everything they told him like a small black hole. He listens to their history, and they teach him how to clean wounds and see the difference between the herbs.   
He also learned things there has never been part of his life. 

One of those things was Love. 

  
He saw how this Love was created between two Tekata and, by some miracle, created a new life out from it. He learned that a new life was called babies.   
They even told him about the relationship between the Natoque, the Tekata, and the Griffin. 

Let's just say that the Natoque was not on friendly turf with the two other species. 

This was the biggest reason why he did not tell Raphael where he had been the last seven years. He was sure it would not end well for anyone. But he wanted to tell him, and maybe he could change this hostile relationship between the two other species. 

Right now, he thinks that he could wait for a little while longer. He just wanted to enjoy this slice of happiness only a bit longer. 

"Aziraphale," the cherubim smiled happily when he saw Raphael coming over to him. The Seraphim were lovely to him lately, and it made his heart do some funny jump in his chest, "any new reports, or discoveries?"

"everything is a tip-top Arch Raphael. All ani-I mean mindless is healed and returned to the wild" he could not contain a happy wriggle when Raphael nodded satisfied, "and I did manage to make something new. Do you... do you want to see?" he asked shyly.   
He always hoped that Raphael would take some of his time to spend with him. 

"I would like to," he said gently. Aziraphale's heart made a whole dance move, and he quickly showed his superior what he has made to hide his goofy smile.

"it's a new cream I made" he eagerly pushed it over to him. Raphael looked curious at it. He did not try to touch it anymore after the first day, "it will help against dry or itchy skin." 

"dry?"

"Some suffer from it. I mostly made it for the itchy thing," Aziraphale admitted. Raphael nodded in understanding. 

"you did very well once again, Aziraphale, well done."   
Aziraphale did not even bother to hide his wings, which flutter in happiness. He was sure he would die happy when he saw Raphael tried to mimic his smile.   
It was incredibly beautiful. 

"n-no problem, always happy to be there for yo-I mean for the host" Aziraphale looked down in embarrassment, Raphael touched his wings thoughtfully before walking away. Aziraphale were used to by now that it was just an absent-minded thing Raphael did but it began to mean a lot to him. When the Seraphim walked away, Aziraphale could not help himself;  
"Raphael, do you want to- I mean, do you like to- I- oh dear..."

"yes?" he looked at him with curiosity, and his eyes shine so nicely. Aziraphale gulped. He had it bad for the higher ranking Natoque. He was too much of a coward to ask him directly, so he decided to use his body language. 

Aziraphale did the Begging gesture with his wings.

The Begging is a submission display. The Natoque didn't know that young birds did it too when they want food from their parents. Young birds shake the tip of their primaries, lower their chest to the ground, and 'scream' for food from their parents.   
An Angels begging was almost the same, (except for the screaming part), they put their wings close to the side, then shakes of their primaries, body in a submission position and then holding eye contact to the one they are Begging to.  
The Begging only happens when a low-ranking angel wants to groom a higher rank.   
A show of respect.

Raphael watched the display and he folded his own six wings a little out to show he accepted the Begging and then also having Aziraphael touching his wings. He gently lay one of his wings on Aziraphale's shoulder(the Cherubim nearly fainted by the touch) and told him with a head move to follow him. 

Raphael leads him outside, where they flew up to a secluded branch. He sat down and spread out his wings to easier access. Aziraphale gulped. He could already see that Raphael's wings were in a mint condition. Probably because he was the second-highest rank of the healer angels, and anyone wanted to show him respect by preening his feathers.   
If he did a good job, Raphael would preen his feather to tell he did a good job.   
If he didn't? Well, then Aziraphale needs to learn how to groom better before asking again and possibly hide for the next decade out of embarrassment. 

No pressure.

At the current moment, he was pretty glad, so many others have already groomed him. It means he only needs to look after broken feathers and probably also oil them with seed oils from the World tree — the biggest reason why Natoque groomed on the smaller branches. 

Aziraphale began from the shoulder blades and down to the primaries. He only saw a few broken feathers, which he plucked out very carefully. He was tempted to dig his hand further into the others feather and touch the muscle of the wing, but he was not sure how Raphael would react to such a bold display, so he decided against it.   
Done with removing broken feathers, he reached out for the nearest tree seed and squished it. A rich oil came out of the seed, with he carefully puts on the feathers. The oil pretty much just made the wings more beautiful to look at; they didn't do much about the ability to fly.   
He finished too fast for his opinion, but he did not dare to linger. He does still remembered Raphael when he is in a bad mood.

Raphael stands up to take a look at his wings. Aziraphale is still sitting and fidget nervously. To his great relief and happiness, Raphael gesture to him to turn around. Aziraphale quickly did that and sighed content when he feels the Seraphim's fingers through his wings. Aziraphale could feel that Raphael was far bolder then he was but then again; the Seraphim were of a higher rank.

Aziraphale was unsure how bad his wings were. It was only later that lower-ranking Natoque asked for groom him, and still, most of the others still avoided him due to him being so different from them.   
So Aziraphale mostly did his quick grooming when his wings got too... itchy. 

"Aziraphale?" Raphael suddenly asked. He didn't stop his work on his wings.

"y-yes?" 

"What color are my wings?"   
Aziraphale frowned at his question. It was not the one he has expected, at least it was an easy answer... since Aziraphale always took a peek at Raphael's beautiful wings when he could. 

"your wings are red and gold, just like your hair and eyes."

a beat of silence   
"And yours?"

"white and blue," he quickly added with a little hope, "my primaries are blue."  
To his delight, he felt Raphael's fingers gently stroke the primaries. It made the Cherubim shiver in bliss.

"they look white to me," the Seraphim muttered, "why do you think I cannot see it?"

"it... it has something to do... with your sight" Aziraphale quickly shook his blissful state off himself and thought carefully over his next answer, "you are not blind, but... how to put this? Something in your brain blocks some part; there should make you see things like others."

"others?"

"you know," he made a vague gesture to the ground. He still didn't think it was a good idea to tell him about the Griffins and Tekata "others?"

Raphael looked confused but did not ask further into it, which Aziraphale was glad he didn't. they both sat in silence while Raphael worked on his wings. He has to hold himself back from shiver too much by the Seraphs touch.

"I want you to came with me on a mission tomorrow" Rapahel suddenly said. 

"o-of course"

"it is a secret mission. so do not tell anyone about this" Raphael said seriously. His grooming was a big harsher now, but Aziraphale thought it was just because of the serious conversation.

"I promise" 

"good" Raphael has grabbed the muscles of his wings, and it made his brain go haywire. It made his body feel all tinkling and his heart dance. 

"It is too bad I can't keep you" the Seraphim whispered in his ears. He was not sure if Raphael were aware of how he made him feel. His whole body needed more of this touch. 

It yearned for it

"R-Ra-Raphael. I-"

"Tomorrow..." Raphael moved closer and hugged him close to him. Aziraphale was blissfully unaware the cold look was in the Seraphim's eyes. "we will end all of this" 


	6. The Origin of the Natoque

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have to warn you guys. not everything follows the story as you are used to.

Raphael knew Aziraphale liked him; he didn’t know how much since others Natoque were not able to feel as many feelings as the odd angel. He knew Aziraphale wanted to be around him and made some strange moves when he paid him attention.   
But Raphael didn’t feel anything for the Cherubim. A small part of him did like the odd dance Aziraphale did or the way he ‘grimace’ at him. He never listens to the little piece of himself.  
He needed to get rid of Aziraphale so he could go back to his old self and he was willing to indulge in the other Natoque odd behavior until he found a good place to dispose of the body and tell the others that it were a griffin who did the killing.

that way She would not punish him for getting rid of the angel for his betrayal. 

Raphael told Aziraphale to follow him down to the ground below. The flight to the destination was quite, the small part of the Seraphim didn’t like that, but he ignored those feelings. Aziraphale landed in a little opening. 

“I think we should walk from now on,” Raphael said. Aziraphale looked a little nervous by this and Raphael couldn't risk the strange angel to back out, so he walked up to Aziraphale and brushed his wings encouraging up against Aziraphale's wings.  
Aziraphale shivered at this and he gave him that weird grimace again(which Raphael has learned to mimic since it looks like Aziraphale liked it), and he began to walk more determined towards the end. Raphael walked beside him because he had the feeling this display will work on Aziraphale emotions too.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale stopped up beside a lake. he was unsure what they were doing here.

"Arch Raphael. what are we looking for?"

"The truth about you," Raphael said seriously and walked up beside him. Aziraphale stared at him with confusion.

"The truth about me?" 

"correct" the seraphim looked at him with cold eyes. Aziraphale did not back away from him this time "who are the other you were talking about?"

Aziraphale froze  
"o-others?"

"yes"

"ah, y-you know, the others?" Aziraphale tried to explain without telling the truth but he was not sure how to get out of this. 

"other angels?"

"ehmm..." Aziraphale thought about it. there were thousand other angels in the World tree so that most be a good excuse "yes?"

the Cherubim felt his glimmer of hope disappear in front of his eyes when he saw Raphael turn into his celestial form with a sneer. 

" **Aziraphale** " he hissed with a dead serious face " **it is punishable by falling to associate yourself with the other side** " 

"what side?" Aziraphale asked scared out of his mind while he backed away from the celestial Natoque. he realized that Rapahel thought he told him the day before that he was a spy or double agent for the Fallen angels. "o-oh Oh! you mean the demons I-" His heart nearly stopped when he put that together and he has seen what happen to Natoque who were sentenced to fall "R-Raphael, I am not friends with the demons, I swear!"   
he backed quicker away and fall over his own feet when he has accidentally walked out in the water. the celestial Seraphim flew closer to him with murder in his eyes. Aziraphale panicked  
"waitwaitWAIT, I was with the griffins!"

" **griffins?** " the Seraphim growled and landed in the water with a wave of newfound anger. " **YOU are in CAHOOTS with the GRIFFINS!?** "

"Yes-I means no" Aziraphale nearly drowned by how angry the waves moved around the giant Seraphim "please just listen-" 

He never manages to say more before he felt an agonizing pain in his wings when Rapahel bit down on him. the celestial Seraphim was trying to rip his wings off his back. in pure instinct to survive this attack; Aziraphale summoned his hidden sword and nicked Raphael in the face. the Seraphim let him go either in pain or in shock of being nicked by a sword. Aziraphale fell down in the deep lake water and only avoided being grabbed again by diving deeper in the water. he would have drowned by this if he needed air. Raphael roared in anger of his attempt to escape and he spread all of his six wings out and let his magic flow into the water which parted on his command. leaving Aziraphale once again on land with two broken wings, an injured back and a heart broken by betrayal. 

"p-please" Aziraphale gasped in fright and for mercy "I am still loyal to her" 

" **I do not care anymore** " Rapahel snarled " **I want you gone for my life!** " 

before Rapahel could strike him again, Aziraphale blitzed himself to the only safe place he knew at the moment.   
the Tekata and the griffins were very surprised to see him again and they quickly helping the panicking angel up.

it would only be years later that Aziraphale would remember that Raphael broke his oath to God that day. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

" **TRAITOR!** " Raphael roared to the area around him. he could not sense the other angel anymore " **I WILL FIND YOU, YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!** "

he turned back to his angelic form and touched the wound Aziraphale gave him on part of his lips and cheek. it was like a papercut. he snarled angrily at Aziraphale escaped a bit more before he decided to return back to the World Tree. 

before he took flight he saw something in the corner of his eyes. He turned around and saw a mindless. if he could see right, he would have seen it was a white Stag with green eyes. He didn't see it looked at him with disappointment. 

Raphael ignored the stag and flew off. 

\- 

He flew only for a little while when he suddenly saw something in the trees under him. it looked like another Natoque

"Aziraphale" Rapahel snarled and dived down to fight him again. he landed on the ground again and saw the other angel walking away from him, he followed him briskly but no matter how fast he walked, run or flew; the other angel was always ahead of him. 

he followed the other angel for a long while until they stopped in an opening the forest. Raphael froze for a second he realized two things. 

the first thing where the angel he has followed were not Aziraphale. it was not an angel he have seen before.

"Who are you?" Raphael asked the angel

" ** _the teller of truth,_** " the other said. Raphael looked confused at them. 

the second thing Raphael realized that the 'Truthteller' has lead him to a strange building. The outside was covered in flora. He could feel God’s magic flow in the area. She protected this whole place for some reason. Like someone has stopped the time inside the building to make sure whatever the building kept hidden was not destroyed by time itself. 

“What is this?” Raphael asked

“ _ **a lab**_.”

“a lab? By who?”

“ ** _It tells you that inside_** ” Truthteller said and use the front door there opened up for them like it was still new and used. 

Raphael hesitated for a second before he follows Truthteller inside.   
Everything looked like it was still used and new. Only a bit of dust covered the flat surface, but everything else was still in order. Raphael could feel Her magic were stronger in here than outside. She wanted to preserve whatever there was in here.

Raphael looked at some dusty papers when he suddenly heard a machine comes back to life. he whipped around to see Truthteller have started up some sort of matching without problems. 

“what are you doing?” he asks them

“ _ **staring it up. It is a locked book.**_ ”

“lock book?”

“ _ **another version of scripture tablets.**_ ”

“oh,” Raphael watched them fiddle around a little more and then that pushed a few bottoms before the whole thing started up.   
A low whirring began, and Raphael immaterially went into attack mode. 

"what is it doing?" he growled

“ _ **starting up**_ ,” Truthteller said simply. Raphael growled at the other angel for making him feel stupid. it didn't make it better than the other angel looked like they enjoyed all of this. 

“How did you know it was here?”

“ ** _always knew it was here,_** ” Raphael was going to ask for better details when suddenly an incorporeal voice was heard;

“Choose a Lock **.** ”

“what the hell?!” Raphael snapped and went into fighting position again and looked frantically around to find the owner of the voice. Truthteller ignored him

“Natoque lock,” Truthteller said. More whirring and a blinking green light appeared in the middle of the room. 

“Natoque is a genetically generated creature used for upholding the law of our society,” the incorporeal voice said coolly. Raphael’s brain stopped working for what he just heard   
“they are created out from Potentiaavis, Krokeus, Volans and Lieper DNA” each animal popped up with smaller boxes behind the creature pointed telling more information about the animal. For Raphael, all the animals looked the same  
“they have split up in three beings; the Seraphim; fast, agile, good hearing and able to see infrared. Seraphim is created with 30% more Volans DNA. 

Cherubim; strong, steadfast, and have a 180-degree sight without needing to move the head. They are created with 30% more Krokeus DNA.  
  
Archangels; smaller and silent in flight and have more resembles our kind. They have 30% more Potentiaavis DNA” each race of the Natoque popped up with the named animal behind them.   
Raphael’s eyes were glued to his own race, the Seraphim. He didn’t notice Truthtellers satisfied look behind him. 

“they were lab created by order of the High Lord after crime and slave rebellion went up with 66%. The first batch was terminated and re-used after they showed empathy and the tendency of free will. The second batch was giving a cerebrum blockade, which made the new Natoque unable to feel a need to be afraid or think outside giving orders. They were created to be perfect Law enforcement”

“I don’t-” Raphael began but Truthteller interrupted him;

“ ** _There is more._** ”

“the Natoque project was a success in 350 years. All of them were terminated when they began to force the law on the upper town and our righteous King. A new batch is currently in progress,” the incorporeal voice finish, and the green light dimmed “Chose a Lock.”

“ ** _that is all_** ” Truthteller said

“Locking down” the whole room turned off and without the green light. Raphael could barely figure out himself anymore. This couldn’t be the truth. Other beings created them; there was not God Herself. His whole exciting was a lie.   
Raphael could feel a part of him began to crumble like time itself ate away a stonewall. He desperately tried to hold on to this part of him but it was crumbling fast.

“ _ **That was over 2 million ago**_ ,” Truthteller interrupted his existential crisis. “ ** _they never manage to make a third batch of us, due to them leaving the planet_**.”

“What... what is all of this?” Raphael looked at him with pleading eyes “this can’t... this can’t be.. be right.”

“ _ **it is. The Tekata were once slaves for the Prirahtas; the original creators**_ ” Truthteller told while they lead him outside. The outside has changed a bit; he could see the giant rocks(mountains) have massive battle scars in them, and the ground around the lab looked sick for some reason. Truthteller pointed at the scarred rocks while he told,   
“ ** _this planet nearly died before the Timeless came. of course, the Prirahta's didn't like that, so they attacked the Timeless, and she kicked them off the planet and re-started everything_** ” they looked solemnly at him.   
How could Truthteller be so calm about all of this?   
“ ** _God didn’t create you, Raphael. She only revived your kind with the help of the pods. That is why you have a strong sense of duty and cannot see. you are created that way because your original creators didn’t want us to be able to feel empathy. You were only meant to be their tool of holding up a corrupt law. God knows about the block and She tried to remove the block to make you act like the griffins and Tekata’s_**.”

Raphael's head snapped up to look at the other angel. there was something wrong about them ad his head hurt so badly.  
“...what?”

" _ **Let go, Raphael. I will not punish you for what you have done today. your locked memories there will soon flow back into your mind and your true emotions will be more than punishment enough. you will not remember my last word to you Raphael. I will see you on the other side of the wall**_ "

  
the last part of Raphael's mental wall broke and raw emotions hit the angel so hard that he was unable to process it fast enough and his body shut down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael woke up with a jolt of surprise.   
Natoque didn't sleep unless they were incredibly low on energy or badly injured.   
Raphael was either of those.   
He looked confused around to figure out where he was. Everything around him looked different, and he did not recognize anything. His eyes landed on the water beside him, and he blinked.   
He lay beside a small pond of Holy water.

' This must be the Healing cave... how did I get here?' he thought. Just to be fully sure. He looked behind him and saw the only surviving pod. The pod didn't look like it would ever work again, though, which make Aziraphale the last Natoque.   
Raphael winced at the pain in his heart. He felt something he has never felt before and it scared him.  
Yet another new emotion he was not used to.

He decided to get out of the cave so he could return back to the World Tree. He quickly got up on his feet and walked toward the entrance.  
Raphael gasped in absolute chock when his eyes, for the first time, could see the world like it was created.  
He could see the forest bloom in late spring and see birds building a nest for their mates. He could see few fluffy clouds handing in the oh so blue sky. He could see the bright sun, which almost blinded him.   
Raphael gaped at everything around him. He could not comprehend all of this beauty, and he just ended up walked mindlessly around the forest to absorb everything.   
Completely forgetting his thoughts of going back to the World Tree.

-

Raphael ended up staying on the ground the whole day and night. He stared in awe at the stars and the two moons in the sky. The two moons reminded him of a bit of two eyes looking at him. Were they the eyes of God or his original creators? 

“I wonder where they are now?” he muttered to himself. Then he huffed, “why should I care? They didn't even want us. Right after we were shown to be too much trouble for them, they killed us. I don't care where they are! God is my only creator-”  
He stopped up when another thought hits him,  
“oh fuck, God is not going to be happy when She learns I broke my duty... I really harmed Aziraphale pretty good.” 

" _oh... sorry, I was just looking at the stars, they are quite beautiful._ ”

” _There are no such things as stars, Aziraphale. The sky has always been black closer to the top of the World Tree. The longer you get to the ground, the whiter it gets,” he stated the obvious,” there is nothing special about them._ ”

” _nothing specia- you can't see the star?_ ”

“ _There are no such things._ ”

“ _what about the moons? Can you see them?_ ” 

“ _no_ ”

“the trees below us?”

“ _of course I can see the trees. They pale in comparison to the Heavenly tree, the World Tree._ ”

“ _of course, of course....but you can't see... anything._ ”

"I can see now, Aziraphale... I can see now” he mumbled to nobody and the terrible ache in his heart began, again he felt numb and... sad?

No.  
For the first time in his entire life.  
Raphael felt guilty

“Oh God, what have I done? I tried to kill you for my own selfish need for control,” Raphael gasped and curled himself together. The pain was terrible, but he knew he deserved it. “I used you, and what did I give in return? Only pain. Oh God, I am so sorry Aziraphale, I am so sorry for everything I have done to you.”

Raphael lay under the stars with his wings curled around him while begging for forgiveness from someone who was not able to hear him. He lay at the same spot until the stars were gone from the sky and the sunrise on the horizon. He only began to move when the birds woke up and began their morning songs.   
He knew what he has to do. 

Raphael folded his six wings out and flew back to the World Tree. 

-

“Jegudiel, I need to talk to you,” Raphael called to the Archangel. It took him some time to find him since his new sight really messed him up. Jegudiel flew over to him when he heard his name was called. Raphael could not stop starring at the tawny-pink colored wings the other have.   
“you have pink wings?”

“what are you talking about?” Jegudiel asked with an odd look, “they are white, just like yours.”

“oh yeah, right, mine are-HOLY SHIT!?” Raphael nearly dropped from the air when he looked at his own six wings. The lesser coverts were a beautiful sunset red, which slowly turned into a molted golden color the closer hit got to his primaries. They were a bit shuffle at the moment, but they still glowed like the sunset.  
“They are differently not white,” Raphael mumbled absent-mindedly. He also noticed his robe has a greenish hue to them, which were far different from the other angel who has more cream and blue colored robes. 

“of course they are white. You are idiotic,” Jegudiel huffed. The Seraphim glared at him.

“I am here because I wanted to talk to you since I need you to go to the ground and-”

“it is not your duty to ask me anything,” the Archangel interrupted him, “you are a healer angel. You only have superiority over the Healers. I only listen to Micheal or higher ranked.”

“can't you make an exception for once?”

“no”   
and with those words; he flew away

“fine! See if I care!” Raphael yelled, angry after Jegudiel while he flew away. He flapped a little harder with his wings so he could get further up in the World tree “Michael it is then” 

-

“Michael!” Raphael found the higher ranking Seraphim together with another one in the upper part of the World tree. Micheal has brown hair with a reddish tone. their wings started as the same color tone as their set-up tied hair and ended in a dark red color like their eyes. Michael was known to bear armor and a flaming sword and command Heaven's army. He had heard them take down more than two Fallen Natoque under the Rebellion by themself and only got help from Sandalphon when they took down the rebel leader Samael. He notices they have a nasty golden scar over their chest, but it didn't look like it bothered them.   
Michael looked at him to show they knew they heard him. Raphael landed and looked at the other Seraphim. He, too, was a Powers like Raphael, and it was first now he realized the other Powers have dark wings, which ended in a purple tone, the same color as his eyes. He already knew who the other Powers were   
“Gabriel” 

“Raphael! Healing goes good as always?” Gabriel asked with a fake smile. It was a thing he has learned from Aziraphale and like Raphael; he has misunderstood the true gesture of a smile. Raphael could help but bristle a little at the cold smile like it has insulted him personally.

“of course,” he said ice-cold to Gabriel. The other Powers didn't notice the tone. Raphael began to understand what the blocking did to the Natoque. He wondered how the two others would act if they did not have the block? He shook his head(Gabriel said something else, and it must have looked like he shook his head to that) to get his brain back on track and turned his attention to the Authorities “look I need a favor-”

“you... a Healing angel needs a favor... from a Crusader angel?” Gabriel interrupted “you are the leader of the Healing angels. What the hell do you what-”

“I am getting to that, Gabriel,” Raphael said, annoyed to Gabriel. He turned back to Michael, who has looked bored at those two, talking, “can you get some of your Underlings to search the ground for me?”

“Why?” they asked. No emotions were shown in their face.

“Aziraphale have gone missing and I-”

“one of your underlings have gone missing under your watch? You are slacking off Raph-”

“ **will you stop interrupting me, you stuck-up peacock?!** ” Raphael finally snapped at Gabriel and flared all of his six wings at the other. Gabriel was maybe the second in command of the Messenger angels, but he was a coward towards someone who showed they have a backbone or were higher or the same rank as himself. The other Powers quickly took some steps back with his arms up in surrender   
“thank you,” Raphael said, still annoyed and for the third time turned his attention towards Michael “can you look after him? I need to find him to say sorry for... for hurting him”

The guilt gnawed harder at him. It never fully disappeared, but it can harder back after he said those words. 

“you hurt him?” Gabriel asked... again. 

“He made me angry!” 

“angry?” Michael asked suspiciously.

“yes!” Raphael said, angry. He was not in the mood to explain himself, “can you look for him or not?”

Suddenly Michael spread their red-brown wings out, and their eyes turned cold. Raphael took a step back away from their cold fury. 

“do not speak to me like that, Powers. Show me some respect,” the Authorities Seraphim said calm, but Raphael knew he was at risk to be stabbed if he did not submit to then right now. He went into a submission position, but he could still feel the desperation in his heart mixed with his guilt.   
A terrible combination. 

“Sorry... Arch Michael,” he said slowly, “please...will you find him for me?”

They folded their six wings and looked long at him like they looked for something special. What they were looking for, Raphael didn't know. Then they finally said;  
“I'll see what I can do.” 

Michael spread their wings out again and flew over to the edge of the branch they stood on to nose-dive to their underlings' locations. The two Powers looked after them for a little moment before Gabriel(annoyingly) began to speak to Raphael again;

“you are acting differently than normal.” 

“no idea what you are talking about,” Raphael said dismissively. He began to walk away, but Gabriel followed him.

“You care too much about one single underling. Gotten too attach to the freak, haven't you?” Raphael refused to answer that question and just hummed in response. His non-exciting answer didn't stop Gabriel from speaking, “heard about New Eden on Earth?”

“a little” Raphael muttered, he tried to walk faster away from the other Powers. But Gabriel did not let that stop him. A question suddenly hits Raphael, and he stopped up, nearly making the other Seraphim bumping into him “why are we even building a second Eden? Isn't the one we have here enough?” 

“God wants us to protect the next dominant being on Earth,” Gabriel said while dusting off his gray purple robe for non-exciting dust. Raphael noticed the spear he was given by God were currently turned into a pin next to his messenger bird pendant.“We should not question her ineffable plan.”

“ineffable,” Raphael snorted “I honestly don't think She knew what is going to happen half of the time. She knows a lot, but not all. How can she?” 

Gabriel gave him the most outraged look he could muster  
“of course She knows everything-”

“oh, really? Then why did she not stop the Rebellion Natoque before they killed so many of us? There is only a handful of us left compare what we used to be” Raphael counter attacked “why did She not just get rid of Samael before he got so many followers on his side? Why not create more of us again, so we come back to our original number?”

“it is not our place-”

“to question things? I actually beginning to think She wants us to do just that,” he thought out loud, “why even pushing me to find the truth?”

“The truth?” Gabriel looked at him, confused. Raphael looked into the other Seraphim's purple eyes. There was no spark in them. He did wonder what will happen if he pushed the annoying idiot over the edge.

What the worst there could happen?

“She is not our original creator. Someone else was” he said, “you see there is this place where-”

“ **lies!** You are speaking lies,” Gabriel snarled at him. He transformed into his celestial form, which did have some similarities to Raphael's, expect Gabriel have a purple and black color scheme instead of a red and golden like Raphael's. Gabriel lifted all of his wings to the air in a display of dominance before attacking.   
Raphael reacted immediately and turned himself and snapped one of his jaws around Gabriel's more eagle-looking head and tossed him away. Raphael didn't bite hard enough to make Gabriel bleed, just hard enough to bruise. Gabriel snarled at him while turning on the ground and fly up to the sky to get the higher ground before attacking again. Raphael dashed away from his air attack and smacked him hard to the ground with his largest wings. Gabriel landed hard with a shoulder first to the ground of the World Tree, and he finally lay still. Both of them turned back.

Raphael was confused and did feel a small glee of the victory. In the past, he has never been able to defeat Gabriel in battle due to the other Seraphim were physically stronger. Raphael was not sure how he won this squabble but he knew it has something to do with him not having the block on his brain anymore.  
he was able to think outside the wall he has been trapped behind forever.

“I will speak to Michael about your recent behavior,” Gabriel growled and came up on his feet. Raphael knew he will not attack again since this was only a squabble, not a real fight. The other Seraphim walked briskly away.

“There is nothing wrong about my behavior, and you attacked me, you bloody moron!” Raphael yelled after the other. Gabriel didn't turn around before flying to God's knows were. He huffed “asshole” before going back to his own area to see if Gabriel manage to get a lucky blow, but that was highly unlikely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potentiaavis - https://www.deviantart.com/anuvina-fableworld/art/Potentiaavis-524870495  
> Krokeus - https://www.deviantart.com/anuvina-fableworld/art/Krokeus-576078011  
> Volans - https://www.deviantart.com/anuvina-fableworld/art/Volans-421644894  
> Lieper - https://www.deviantart.com/anuvina-fableworld/art/Lieper-2-572724641


	7. Falling from Grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> long chapter and it can turn a bit graphic.

A month later(not that Raphael knew what a month was, but that is beside the case) and still no answer from Micheal, the healer Seraphim has begun to feel an unknown panic in his body. He didn’t like this strange panic, or all the what-if questions there have started inside his head. Since he got the sight, he has experienced a lot of new emotions, and over half of them, he didn’t even have a name on.   
He could barely work anymore(the other Healers have noticed this since Raphael have done a terrible job at hiding it) because of his new feelings, and his inner panic was always about Aziraphale.

‘he is alone with two broken wings... what if a Griffin finds him?   
Will a Griffin even hurt him? Didn’t he say he was ‘friends’ with them?  
Did he go to them?   
What if he falls down a hole and cannot get out of it?   
What if that hole is full of water?   
Can Natoque even swim?   
Can I swim?   
What if ?-’

”Raphael,” someone interrupted his darker thoughts. He turns around to see Michael and another Authorities named Nuriel in full body armor come over to him with a stern look. 

‘they most have just recently come back from looking for Aziraphale’ 

”Did you find-HEY!?” before he could say more, Micheal has grabbed his wings on the right side while Nathaniel(another Seraph's with red-white wings) 

on the left side and forcefully took his stave away from him. His underlings didn’t move to get the two Authorities off him. They just looked neutral at them, detaining their leader.   
”WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?”

”you are hereby summoned to the circle of Judgment for your Sins against the Almighty,” Michael said with a cold tone. Raphael felt his whole body turn cold while the two higher-ranking Seraphims blitz with him into the Circle of Judgment, which was located inside the World tree trunk. If not Raphael were so much out of it, he would have seen all of the Seraphs being present.   
The two other circles were not present for some reason.

Michael and Nuriel forced him on his knees in the middle of the circular room, where both of them were holding a tight grip in his largest wings so he couldn’t escape.   
Raphael was forced to look up at the highest-ranking Seraph face;  
Seraphiel.

Seraphiel’s wings began in a sandy color and then ran down to a lightning yellow. His eyes were nearly white of the blindness, they all have been cursed with from the beginning. His face showed no emotions other than judgmental. 

”Raphael, archangel of the Healing angels. You know why you are here?” he said with a terrifying calmness.

”No, I don’t,” Raphael said honestly. Seraphiel was not impressed at all at his answer. Beside him stood the leader of the scripture angels; Mattatron, who was the spitting image of Sandalphon, except Meratron’s wings were more orange than yellow as Sandalphon wings were. Both of them have a greyish tone in their hair, and none of them were a pleasure to be around. Mattatron was writing everything down there was going on, possible to give what was going to happen to God Herself after this trail. 

”You are here due to your sins against Her” Seraphiel said

”What Sins? What are you talking about?” Raphael asked, desperately. He tried to get up, but either Micheal or Nuriel allowed this.

”You looked away from Her light and Her words. You are betraying Her by your every step and every question you speak against Her”.

”I still love Her!” He tried to shake the two Authorities off again, but they just tighten their grip on his wings which made him hiss in pain “She wanted me to ask questions! She wanted me to Se-”

” **Silence!** ” Seraphiel growled. Raphael didn’t care.

”She wanted me to find the truth! She wanted me to break the laws of us!”

”Did She tell you to break the rule?” the Lordships Seraphim asked. Raphael stopped struggling for a moment to think back to his conversation with Her.

”No, she wanted me to seek for an answer,” he told them all,” and I found the answer!”

”Tell us what the answer is,” Seraphiel said harshly. Metatron looked expected at him, ready to write down everything he said. Raphael gulped, they were not going to like the truth, but he has to try!

”We were created by someone else who lived on this planet for millions of years ago,” he said as quickly as possible. He could see outrage in many of the surrounding Seraphims faces” we were created by a tool of destruction-!”

” **SILENCE!** ” Seraphiel bellowed with six flaring brown-yellow wings” we are the perfections! We are Her followers-”

” **SHE DOESN’T CARE WHAT WE DO!** ”

Silence. All the Seraph around him looked at him with murder in their eyes. 

He knew he was doomed, and his thought went to Aziraphale, and he utterly regretted his last encounter with him was in anger and denial.

”Raphael. You are hereby sentenced to Fall,” Seraphiel said ice cold. Raphael was forced on his stomach by Michael and Nuriel, who looked at their leader for new orders.  
”clip him.” 

Raphael struggled with all his might against the two Authorities who were still holding him down on the ground and have a death grip on his two largest wings.   
Sandalphon, a third Authorities, walked over to him with a flaming ax. 

Raphael panicked; he screamed for mercy and for Her to intervene, but both of his pleas were unheard, and the flaming ax hit his largest set of wings. 

Losing a wing is just like losing an arm. Flesh and muscle were ripped to shreds, and bones were crushed and scattered until an ugly ‘Thump’ could be heard when the separated limb landed behind its owner.   
There was no pain a first since the rest of the body could not comprehend the pain and lost it just went through.   
The pain will come later. The loss will be realized with it too.   
The only thing Raphael could do at the moment is to look in horrified shock at his two separated wings with was covered in golden blood. 

”you will fall because question Her divine plan,” Seraphiel said while Nuriel and Michael ripped the uppers part of his robe to shreds and tossed the blood-covered clothing to the ground "you will never again be allowed to bathe in Her divine Grace or be welcome into Heaven"

Raphael looked up into Seraphiel blind eyes with his own there was full of pain, betrayal, and utter chock. 

His ability to fly was gone with his separated wing. 

And now; the place he has called his home was also taken from him.

"You will never again be allowed to call yourself an angel. If we ever see you again; Heaven will kill you" Seraphiel said

”A-Aziraphale... I... I’m sor-” Raphael tried to pray for forgiveness for the only one he wanted forgiveness from, but he was cut off;

”Fall and be with the rest of the traitors of the Heavenly Host.”

they pushed him into an open portal right behind him. 

And he fell

fall

fall

and then

nothing

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

" _ **Raphael**_ ”  
 _ **you were never meant to fall.**_  
 **I Cannot save you from falling, but I can give you a gift.**  
 _ **I will also hide your true identity.**_  
 _ **I will give you wings to fly and they will be blackened, and I will make you look more like an Archangel and a Seraphim.**_  
 _ **you will not be recognized by enemies.**_   
_**Do not let the demons know who you really are.**_  
 _ **you will fall, and your life will not be easy.**_  
 _ **You will survive.**_  
 _ **Wake Up.**_ ”

Raphael woke up in pain and feeling so

so

so cold. 

He cried for help, even when he knew nobody will help him now. 

He didn’t ask for this!

He just wanted to have the freedom to ask questions.

He wanted to make amends with Aziraphale.

Is that too much to ask?

He was so cold. 

He wanted the pain to stop.

His world turned black again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael heard laughter and then felt pain in his left foot. 

He yelled in pain and turned to see what is was there had caused the pain in his foot. 

A pack of hungry hyenas surrounds him, they have moved away by his flaring, and they were still unsure what to do with him.   
It will not be long before they found out he was edible and easy prey due to his condition. 

Raphael exclaimed in horror and flared his four last remaining wings in the hope they will leave him alone.  
The pain from his stumps was nearly unbearably and he was close to succumbing to the pain. 

The hyenas only moved to a distance where he couldn’t hit them, and they have the whole night waiting until he was too exhausted to defend himself or they got bold enough to go in for the kill. 

It was pure torture to get up on his feet, but he was too determined not to die like this. He used his wings to make the pack of hyenas to stay their distance.   
He needed to fly to-. 

Raphael whipped his head around when he saw his wings.

he already knew that he have lost one of his six wings but when he looked at his wings he only saw one wide black pair.   
How he got them he has no idea, but that didn't matter at the moment. 

Raphael tried to fly but he was not used to only have one pair of wings so he flapped around like a useless chicken. 

The hyenas were laughing at his predicament. 

”GET BACK!” Raphael snarled at them. A black bold one darted away from his large wings. 

He needed to fly! He still has wings, and he just needs them to lift him from the ground. 

He tried to run away from the hyenas, but they followed him. They could smell his fear and desperation. 

‘come one! you can fly with only one pair, so FLY!'

The bold hyena was inches away from snapping its jaws around his hand. He hunted it away by it with his wings and yelling. 

Raphael tried, again and again, to get up in the air but he could not stay up in the air for long since he has no training at all how to fly with a single pair. 

out in the corner of his eyes, he saw how the gound just stopped and he knew he was nearby a cliff. Knowing he would be eaten alive if he stayed around he limped at fast as he could towards the cliff while he still holds the hyenas back. He tripped ungracefully over the edge and spread out his wings once again.   
  
The flight was painful and awkward.   
But it didn’t matter so long it got him into the air and towards safety. 

Raphael landed in the first tall tree he could find, and he landed with a relieved sop.   
He was disgusting, tired, and in pain.  
But at least he was still alive.

-

Raphael didn’t know how long he has been up in the tree. All he knew was it was day now, and he was safe for the time being.   
Still a bit tired, he decided to take a look at his new pair of wings.   
He grimaces in what he saw. 

He could see that his four remaining wings have some kind of way merging to one pair and that could also explain why they were so long and acted up so much due to the fact they have more wing bones than normal angel wings have. The once garnet red and golden wings were now a coal-black with only splotches of the once golden and reddish hue. Reminding him of the stars. 

”Could be worse,” he mutters to himself after he got used to his wings new colors ”least I can fly again.” 

Raphael decided to take a look at the rest of his body to see what else has been changed.   
Not much; his ears have lost their feathery look and now just looked like an Archangels’ ears. His feet and claws were still the same as far as he could tell.   
He most looks like a weird archangel now.   
Again, it could be worse. 

He reached up to his shoulder and grimace when he felt deep scars where his largest wings used to be. He needs to find some clothing to cover up. 

He was sure that a particular black hyena would be more than happy to give him some clothing. 

-

Raphael sat near a riverbank, cleaning his skin and feather from blood and dirt. Being clipped, thrown out of Heaven, and then nearly eaten does a number on his wings. He also tried to bend his new wings to see what they were able to do. They were far more flexible than regular wings, that for sure.

Suddenly he heard voices. He quickly put the animal skin around his torso and went into a defended position. 

Two other angels came up to him from the tall grass near the river.   
Though calling them, angels would have been a shame. They still have wings like one, but there was something uncanny about them. Like they tried to look like an angel but had no idea what a real angel looks like. 

He guessed they were fallen like himself. 

”Oh, what do we have here?” the golden-winged Fallen asked the silver-winged ”another fallen angel?”

”Another one? I thought we rounded them all up,” the sliver one said, annoyed.

”Clearly, not all of them,” the golden one said,”Hey you!”

Raphael stiffed

”have you found yourself a new name?”

”no...?” Raphael said unsure. He didn't like the sound of that.

”Good. Come on then,” the golden one said while waved him over to them. Unsure what else to do, Raphael slowly walked up to them, and he noticed that they were blind too,” the Dark Lord will be happy to hear we found you.”

”Right...”

”you will get a new name. Good riddance with our old ones if you ask me,” the sliver one said with a nasty grim. Their teeth were black and rotten. Raphael tried to contain a shutter,”I am now called Oeillet, and she is Mammon.” 

he looked at Mammon, who preen herself like she was the best thing there have to happen on Earth. 

He knew he had no choice but to follow them and be introduced into this new Host.

-

The two fallen angels lead him into something there looked like a narrow cave at the foot at an active volcano. It was incredibly crowded and dark.   
He immediately didn’t like it, but he reluctantly followed Mammon and Oeillet further into the narrow caves. 

”We are still building this place,” Oeillet said with a menacing glee. Raphael really wishes he stopped smiling,” the Dark Lord is calling it Hell.” 

”Why Hell?” Raphael could not help but ask.

”Why the Hell not?” Mammon responded, and the two fallen angels roared in laughter. He laughed awkward with them.   
They came to a still-work-in-progress door where clearly scratch marks were on the door there spelled ‘SATAN. DARK LORD’   
Mammon knocked on the door and entered with him and Oeillet when they heard a rumbled ”enter.”

Raphael forced himself not to turn around a run as fast as he could away from the former Angel in front of him. He knew just by looking at Satan that he once used to be Samael. 

Samael now Satan was still as powerful and beautiful looking as he once were, but he was beginning to get an uncanny tone on himself. His fair skin was starting to gain a more reddish tint, and his once blond-green feathers have begun to look more leathery with a dark reddish tone to them. The mixing in colors was confusing to look at but also showed what the Fallen would do to themselves to get as far away from Her light as possible.   
What made him scared of the leader of the Fallen, it that Satan could **See**. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Samael looked at the new fallen angel who has entered his domain with Mammon and Oeillet. They were scrawny and looked scared. They really did disappoint Samael. 

The Archdemon walked toward the red-haired demon and stopped up when he saw their eyes.   
they could see like him, but unlike him; they were scared of the world around them. 

” My Lord, we found another one wander around,” Mammon said like she just showed him a gold medal. Samael looked curious at the new demon, who tried not the shrink under his glace ”they haven’t given themselves a new name yet.”

”don’t they now?” Samael's said with a voice was like silk, he hides his disappointment of the arrival of this scrawny creature. at least they were worth to keep alive just for having the sight, could be useful in the future. He went closer to the three fallen who tried to look smaller under his eyes. Samael looked at his two older soldier demons  
”your both will be significantly rewarded for finding your lost brother.”   
the two fallen angels bowed one last time to him before leaving him with the new demon.  
Samael straight into their eyes.

Samael took a hold on the demon's jaw and smiled mockingly to the new demon. he liked to see them squirm and know HE was the new boss to them. 

” She made you See too” he stated.   
He did not let go of the red-haired's jaw. 

” y-yes,” they gulped. There was no denying they were terrified of Samael.

”Was it worth it?" He asked them. they looked confused at him ”to hear that we; was nothing more but a mistake there need to be fixed.”

Samael let go of their jaw a bit harshly. He didn't care though

”She wanted us to bow to the tekata’s. The ancestor of cowards and She wanted us to respect the Griffins? those **imperfect** beings.” 

He decided to circle them to really look at them. They did not impress him at all. 

”You see my new little demon. I refuse to bow to anyone who that little thing called a ‘life span.’ Why should we bow our heads to something there can’t even half of those things we can? If we cannot be her perfect creations. Nobody can” he stopped in front of them with a curious look "tell me, my demon. what is your current name?"

"I-" the demon began but then stopped himself before saying "I don't remember"

"you don't remember?" Samael asked with a little smile. He knew the new demon where lying, but why he did not know. Samael already knew that nobody lies to him and get away with it, but he decided to wait with the punishment until he heard and saw how deep the new one would dig their own grave. 

"N-no. I hit my head very hard on the ground" the new demon lied as his life depended on it "I can barely remember who I was before I fell"

"you don't remember Heaven?"

"only pieces"

"what do you remember?"

"let see..." The red-haired almost looked like they thought about long about it. It was a little impressive for Samael "I remember a big tree. Flying angels. A garden with pods of more of our kind and-"

"That's enough" Samael interrupted them bored "It doesn't matter if we can't remember Heaven anymore. All there matter now is this"

Samael grabbed their neck in a death grip and forced them against a wall. Samael nearly laughed at the futile struggle they did.   
  


Samael puts his clawed hand on their chest and removes half of the new demon's soul. He has done this to nearly all of his demons to better control them and make them more hostile against Heaven. A Natoque who felt mortality would be dangerous and easier to control with fear. Samael ripped half of their soul out and let the new demon drop to the ground.

"Do you know what this is?" Samael asked them mockingly. he was still holding half of their Soul, also called Grace by the angels "this is your Grace. Your whole identity"

The nameless demon began to hyperventilate the longer they felt the feeling of mortality on their body. Samael would drive them to insanity if he did not give back the soul soon.  
Samael hushed them and stroke their head almost caring.

"It's funny... the body can survive with only a third of a soul. We only need it when we die, to make sure we can find a new body. To think that a Natoque can be turned into a simple mortal after death. how ridiculous"

The demon looked at him with tears running down his cheek. It disgusted Samael but he still was a little impressed how much this demon could take of feeling time gnawing on their body. 

"Please. give back my Grace... I can go on like this. I can't feel anything..." they pleaded

"You don't need your old soul. It only shows you how much She and Heaven have abandoned you" Samael hushed them and then turned around to walk over to his table. Under the rebellion; Samael manages to take part in God's power over souls and life. Samael first took a snake's soul he has used more than once on some other fallen angels and added it to the fallen angel's broken soul. of course, the two souls rejected each other so Samael took a bottle with God's blood inside of it and added a drop of God's blood two the two souls. the blood merged the two souls together and then he walked back to the crying demon. it was a pitiful sight but easier to convince to take the half soul back  
"I am your salvation, I will give you a new soul. A soul there will show your true nature. you only have to do one thing for me"

"... Anything," the demon said.

"Pledge Allegiance to me"

The new demon froze for a second when they heard that, but then they looked at the half soul in Samael's hand.   
Then they slowly come up on their feet and they bowed to him.  
”My Lord. I pledge my allegiance to you”

Samael looked at them with a satisfied smirk and he gave the corrupted soul back. The desperate demon quickly took the soul and let it be part of him.

Samael watched how the red-haired demon gasped in pain and then turned into a black snake with a red underbelly. The snake could not show any emotion but how it was curled around itself was more than enough proof to show that the snake was terrified. 

"You are a liar and nobody lies to me" Samael looked haughty down as the terrified black snake "Because you lied to me, you will be cursed to Crawl you your belly and eat the dust of our feet. You shall be known as Crawly and only when I feel you have learned your lesson; then I allow you to change your name and stand with the rest of us. For now; eat out dust"

Samael kicked dirt onto the snake which flinched away from him before he left the snake in his room. Someday the snake will once again be able to turn into his demonic form and when that time came; it would be groomed into a perfect demon like the rest of them.

Samael makes sure of that. 


	8. An angel and a demon, standing on a wall

After the ‘scuffle’ with Raphael, Aziraphale fled to the only place he knew he would be safe; the Tekata village. When they saw him agitated, and with two broken wings, they right away let him stay with them as long as he like. Aziraphale lay in one of the huts he shared with Sukka; the Tekata with the antler he first met that faithful day.  
Sukka gently looked over his wings to make sure they healed correctly.

“ _Who did this to you, Zira?_ ” he asked. Aziraphale was used to be called ‘Zira’ by him. The Tekata people found it difficult to pronounce his full name, so he accepted the shorten term of it. Aziraphale sighed and spoke back in the Tekata’s own tongue

“ _One of my own... I trusted him... and he... attacked me,_ ” he hides his face in his hands. “ _God, I was so stupid._ ”

“ _Your kind has always been like that, Zira. Heartless and soulless,_ ” Sukka sighed. Aziraphale gave him an upset look “ _well, you have always been different from the others, which I am happy for, but what in the World made you think the following would end up with?_ ”

“ _I don't know, he-_ ” Aziraphale defended. He felt a deep need to protect Raphael, and that just made his broken heartache even more, “ _he thought I was in contact with the demons. It was just one big misunderstanding._ ”

“ _You trusted him,_ ” Sukka said with a hit of pity in his voice. He added some mushed herbs to his broken wings and bandaged them tightly. Aziraphale flinched in discomfort “ _he was special to you?_ ”

“ _He was my superior,_ ” he said with a sad smile. He always had an eye for the red-haired Natoque. He was beautiful, and that spark he sometimes got in his eyes, which makes them look like molted gold, was what made Aziraphale want to do anything to impress the Seraphim. Slightly blushing, he decided against telling this to Sukka, “and he did have his moments where he was nice to me, and he also protected me from the others and-”

“ _You loved him,_ ” Sukka interrupted with an astonishing frown. “ _I didn’t even know your kind were able to do that._ ”

“ _Love?_ ” Aziraphale asked confused and tried to get up from his laying position but decided against it when pain shoot through his wings. The Angel knew about love, but only by descriptions “ _don’t be ridiculous. As you said, my lot is not able to do that._ ”

” _Still sounds like love to me, Zira_ ”

” _If you are right, that I can love, it means that I am the only one who can... nobody of my kind will return it. Raphael already showed me that._ ”

He lay his head sad on his arms at that thought, a creature who was able to love but will be forever alone. The love he did feel for Raphael was clearly one-sided.

‘Raphael will never love me.... he will surely kill me if we ever meet again.’

that thought broke his already broken heart clean in half.

-

Aziraphale was sure he stayed at least 100 years with the Tekata when he looked down at Sukka’s grave. The antlered Tekata died of natural causes and have left at least four great-grandkids behind with a bunch of other family members. The other family members did show their appreciation that he showed his respect. He nodded to all of them with a little smile and expressed his condolence to every single one of them.  
That was hours ago, and at the current moment, he stood alone by Sukka’s grave.

He sighed; he knew there was no reason to stay any longer here. Sooner or later, he has to return to his own and face Raphael’s wrath.  
Aziraphale looked at his healed wings and shivered at the thought they were going to be re-broken.

Or worse, clipped.

He closed his eyes for a good while to calm himself for the indelible.  
To say he was scared would be the understatement of the year.  
Looking one last time at the grave and mutter a small prayer to whoever was listing, he folded his wings out and flew back to Heaven with an impending doom hanging over his head.

Aziraphale barely notices anything in his flight back. He tried to make himself calm and think about something. Anything he could say to Raphael to make his punishment a little less... painful.

‘God, why did you make me-’

“Aziraphale!”  
The Angel in question dropped at least five feet before he remembered he could fly . He turned in the air and saw a Natoque he did not recognize.

“A-ah, Hello... didn’t see you there,” Aziraphale shuttered. He noticed the other Natoque were a Seraphim with black-purple wings and had a terrible habit of staying a few inches higher in the air, so Aziraphale was forced to look up. He ignored this and instead asked, “who are you again?”

“I am Gabriel, Arch of the Guiding angels,” Gabriel said, “I have been looking for you forever. The Almighty wants to speak to you.”

“Me? She wants to speak... to me?” Aziraphale asked, absolutely surprised.

‘Oh dear, is God also mad at me? Forget all about a light punishment.’

“Yes, and you are very late. You should feel ashamed,” Gabriel said coolly. He sounded like he just wanted this message to be over so he could do something more interesting “now come, don’t let Her wait for more than She already has for you.”

he opened a portal and looked expectantly at Aziraphale.

“R-right,” he shuttered and tried to give a smile to the other(who only gave a fake one back), but it came more out like a scared-out-of-your-mind grimace. He was nearly pushed inside the portal by a very impatience Gabriel.

-

Aziraphale could not hold back anymore how scared he was; his wings were puffed up, and he shook like crazy. He slowly walked inside Her domain and waited for the worst.

“ _ **Aziraphale. Do not be afraid**_ ” She came flying down to him on major wings. She was just as beautiful as he remembered: “ _ **you are not here to be punished.**_ ”

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed out in relief. God raised a perfect eyebrow at him “sorry, what I mean was-” he stopped himself before he began to ramble “nevermind.”

She looked at him for a little moment before speaking again.  
“ _ **I requested you in my domain due to the circumstance there have happened for your people**_ ” he blinked confused(not been even close to the World tree for at over 100 years did put him a bit out of the loop on what is going on lately) and she continued “ _ **an angel has fallen**_ ”

“Oh,” Aziraphale said, only a bit surprised. He would instead want to know, “who?”

“ _ **Raphael**_ ”  
that did make him flinch in chock.

‘Raphael is gone? Has he been kicked out of Heaven? But why-? ‘

Then he remembered that Raphael had been ordered never to let anything happen to him. The Seraphim have hurt him and now...

"Is.... is some of the reasons... because of me?” he asked, clearly upset. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at him. He knew She would not tell him anything for Her reasons  
“right... is there anything I can do, my Lord?”

“ _ **You will be the one to find him again and end his suffering, Aziraphale.**_ ”

“Me?! B-but I am no crusader angel; I can’t-”

“ _ **The Healer angels already have a new leader but it is very important that you found the former Arch healer**_ ” She cut him off, She didn’t sound angry, but he did not want to test that theory “ _ **There will not be any deadline to this order since I still need you to Guard the Eastern Gate and protect the two humans of Eden**_ ” he jumped a little when his flaming sword(he left it behind at the lake when Raphael broke his wings)again, impended itself in front of him “ _ **you will need your sword, try not to lose it again.**_ ”

“Of course, my Lord,” he took the sword and secured it to his belt. He knew he should go out, but there is one thing he needed some answer to “my Lord, can... can I ask a question?”

“ _ **Only one, Aziraphale.**_ ”

“Are Natoque able to feel the love?”

She looked at him for a very long time. It was hard to say why She looked at him, and for some minutes Aziraphale thought She would not answer him when She suddenly said;  
“ _ **They need to have free will to do such a thing.**_ ”

“Are we able to gain free will?”

She smiled mysteriously to him,  
“ _ **Only one question, Aziraphale.**_ ”

“Right,” he knew he did not get more than that out of Her. He turned to walk out of her domain with a little nervous smile “off to Eden I go then.”

She only nodded before she spread out her wings and flew off again. Aziraphale left her domain more confused than nervous.

'Oh dear... whatever game the Almighty is playing, I do not think I like-'

“Aziraphale,” his thoughts were interrupted by the same Seraphim who fetched him out in the forest. He walked with another Seraphim with reddish-brown wings and in full armor.

“Oh, Hello... Gabriel,” it took a little moment for Aziraphale to remember what his name was, lucky Gabriel didn’t notice. He nodded his name to the other Seraphim; he already knew the name of “Michael.”

Michael nodded curtly in greeting.

“What did She tell you?” Gabriel asked. Aziraphale took a little step away from him since he was invading his personal space

“Ah, yes, well, you see...” Aziraphale fretted with his fingers. He was fully aware that other Natoque were not fond of him, and the only reason he was left alone before was because of Raphael’s protections. He didn’t have that anymore, so he prepared himself for the worst “apparently... she... wants me to... ehm, find the former Rapahel and-.”

“Splendid!” Gabriel clapped his hand with a big smile “She gave you a Nemesis! Now we just have you changing your name.”

“Changing my name. but I like my name” Aziraphale protested in utter confusion in what is going on.

“Don’t be dumb. Your current name has no meaning for the future. The name Raphael is needed to God’s future plans,” Micheal said harshly. Aziraphale was going to point out they cast the original Raphael out, but he knew better than to go against these two “you are no healer angel but that doesn't matter so long you follow orders. You need to claim the name from the demon by killing him.”

“K-killing him?!” Aziraphale gasped. He knew that Raphael probably hated him now for multiple reasons(fraternizing with the Griffins and Tekatas for one thing). Still, he was not sure he could harm Raphael even if he were a demon. Even though the original Healer angel was not nice to him all the time, it was those rare moments he falls for.

“Only way to claim a name,” Gabriel said like he just needed to take a nametag from Raphael “of course he is not allowed to use the name, but he will still be recognized by this name by his former weapon” he clapped Aziraphale on the shoulder with a big smile “he will be your nemesis! Not all of us get one of use”

“How exciting,” Aziraphale muttered lowly. He really didn’t want Raphael’s name. It just felt wrong “I am not allowed to keep my current name?”

“You can still use it up here, of course, but not around the humans when that time comes,” Gabriel said. Aziraphale noted he liked to hear himself talk, “that would be ridiculous.”

“R-right,” Aziraphale mutter sad over his new predicament. He gave his own fake smile and gestured with his hand like he strikes someone down, “kill the demon who was once Raphael. Easy”

“Were counting on you. Best of luck,” Gabriel said with another fake smile before he walked off.

Micheal followed him with a posture like a soldier. They stopped up and looked at him  
“Welcome back to Heaven,” they said before they too walked off.

“Thanks,” Aziraphale called after them. When he was alone, he pondered over the new duty he has gotten.  
He was not sure he could kill Raphael.  
Giving him a piece of his mind for what he has done to Aziraphale, but killing?

‘What in the world am I going to do? ‘

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
  
 **Planet Earth**  
  
 **Year 3954 bc**  
  
 **Garden of Eden**  
  
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Garden of Eden located on Earth could be found in the area there would be later known as "Africa" by the native. The Garden itself was far bigger than the one on Quatos, but this Garden worked more like a zoo or a side project for God than the original Garden.  
The Garden of Eden was told to be a paradise. It was rich with edible plants and fruits. The animals inside the Eden do not eat each other, and in the middle of the Garden, there was the tree of knowledge with apples there could tell you from right and wrong when you ate it.

But that was not entirely true. There was never an apple tree in the middle of the Garden.  
Not even a cherry tree.  
In the middle of the Garden, there was a lake with normal water and average fish.  
Nothing magical about the lake.

The Garden itself was magical. The weather in the Garden was always sunny and warm. The trees always carried fruits, and the animals and the two humans were allowed to eat all of it.  
The fruits prevented all living things to die of age and make the mind docile.

The Gardens walls were not out of brick, nor was it out of wood. It was made out of never-melting ice, and there were no gates either to protect.  
The gates were not giant doors or even an even a window.  
It was just a giant slab of ice called a gate.  
But the four 'gates' did have angels protecting them.  
All of them were Cherubim.

One of the Cherubim were Aziraphale.

The Garden of Eden's primary occupant was the two 'perfect' humans named Adam and Eve. There was no reason to give them names, but the other Cherubim just did what they were told, and Aziraphale thought it was nice they were allowed to have a name.  
Adam and Eve were not the first humans. The human species have already walked the Earth for thousands of years at this moment.   
The two humans needed to stay in their perfect little paradise where they would spend all of their days in ignorance of the world outside.

A perfect little birdcage.

The Guardian of the Eastern gate knew that feeling.

Both humans have been giving fruits; there gave them an uncommonly longer life and made them docile. The two perfect humans mostly spent their days doing nothing due to the docile affect the fruit of the Eden had on them. Some herbivore animals have also been placed inside the Eden, and they too got the same effect as the two main occupants.

Aziraphale, Guardian of the Eastern gate, really wanted to fly down and introduce himself as one of their guardians and tell them they have nothing to be afraid of. They were going to protect them, watch over them from any harm.  
He also just wanted to speak to anybody.  
Just someone would be enough.

The angel of the Eastern Gate was very lonely.

-

A stormy night came to Eden. The Garden itself was protected by magic so that no storm could reach the Garden. The guardians of the gates were not as lucky to be protected by the rain, and so Aziraphale stood out in the rain-wet, miserable and lonely.  
In vain, he tried to use his wings to keep himself dry, but he was already soaked to the bones.  
Good thing, angels couldn't get sick.

A crack of thunder boomed right beside him, and with surprise, he looked at the place on the solid ice wall where it had hit, he was checked after significant damages and used his magic to repair the walls.  
He stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes noticed a dark shadow on the wall, it was hard to see anything due to the heavy rain.

"Who goes there?" he yelled in the wind at the intruder.

The intruder didn't move at first, but then they folder out sleek black wings and fly quickly away from Aziraphale.

"Who..?" he whispered out in the rain. Barely seeing anything due to the rain but he was sure the other one had red hair. His heart clenched a little at that thought for a reason he did not understand. He really needs to stop having these traitorous feelings.  
Aziraphale kept looking at the way the strange angel flew off to. He wondered if it was a fallen angel.

If it was a fallen angel.  
He guessed he has to destroy them?  
It didn't sit well with him for many reasons.

"Hello?" he called out to the forest, just in case the other one was still around" if you are a fallen angel. Please, don't come back."

No answer. But Aziraphale had the feeling of being watched.

"I really don't want to smite you, but I will do it if you come back, so eh... don't come back."  
Aziraphale did a little nod with his head like his job here was done and returned to his duty with the flaming sword blazing at his side. The only thing keeping him warm lately.

In the dark forest on the other side of the wall, a pair of yellow serpentine eyes stared at him in curiosity.

'Aziraphale?' was the demon's only thought.

Part of the fallen angel wanted to listen to the angel's warning.  
Maybe even fly back up and try to talk to him again.  
He knew better, though.  
He still has his duty to attend.  
So he could not listen to the warning.

With a sad sigh of the whole ideal, he decided no angel would think to look twice if a Snake invaded the Garden.  
So a snake he turned into and entered the Garden for real this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did I mention Adnima can be bit of an evil Troll?  
> just so you know; what Michael and Gabriel said to Aziraphale is not something she came up with.  
> all part of the angels twisted sense of loyalty


	9. Paradise lost

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**planet Earth**

**year 4004 bc**

**Garden of Eden**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

  
  
it didn’t happen on one day or a week.

A black snake came to the Garden, and no of the Guardians thought it would be a demon in disguise. They didn’t have imagination enough for that.

The Serpent of Eden began slowly teaching Adam and Eve the knowledge of Speech, which has only been gifted to beings, not of this place. The first human learned an ancient language, which unfortunately got lost with time.  
But that didn’t matter at the current moment.

The Serpent of Eden told them about the effects the fruit of Eden have on them and told them to stop eating the fruits so their minds would clear.

Adam was the first to stop eating the fruits. Eve soon followed the man’s lead, but she was the one who showed far greater leadership than he did.  
Eve wanted a future. Adam wanted to make his mate happy.

now when She was expecting

They needed food; too, there did not dull their senses.  
They needed to get out and seek out others of their species so their future children have mates and could continue their lineage.

The Serpent of Eden helped them to leave the Eden by melting a little passage in the wall of ice.  
The Cherubim of the gates noticed the Serpent’s interference and attacked him. The Serpent kept the angel at bay while the two humans fled.

The two humans of Eden ran away from the Eden of their own free will.  
But they will be hunted down by the angels who wanted them back.  
They will never return to the Garden  
Adam and Eve managed to find shelter around other humans. They were not perfect like them, but that really didn’t matter to the young human species.  
Their new life will be hard for them, and death will now be their companion.  
Adam and Eve were once again; mortals waited for their first child to come to the world.  
There will be pain, grief, and uncertainty in the future.  
But at the moment, they were just glad to have a life and a family.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale flew headless around the stormy night. The wind knocked him around, the rabid rain blinded all of his eyes, and the cracks of thunders have already deafened him.  
The other Cherubim was raving mad that the humans had fled the Garden of Eden and wanted them back right now! But it was a wild goose chase to find Adam and Eve in this kind of weather. They were gone, and there was no yelling or threats there could prevent that.

Aziraphale decided to stop looking for the two humans before he ended up being hit by lightning. He could search when the storm was gone for a better chance to see.  
On his way back to the Garden, he saw the shadow of a larger Cherubim.  
He recognizes them as Ridwan, Guardian of the Western gate.

”Did you find the humans?” they asked while flapping their midnight blue and burning red wings in the stormy sky. Even if the rain blinded Aziraphale, he did notice that the other guardians have nasty bite wounds around the neck, and a lot of their red eyes were plucked out, even one of their smaller wings looked broken.  
Didn’t look like the wounds bothering them, or they just didn’t want to show sign of weakness.

”No!” Aziraphale yelled back in the wind. His white-blue wings were in terrible condition due to the storm and merciless rain” I can’t see anything in this weather. Only ducks would find this pleasant!”

”Then, keep searching.”

”Ridwan, I **can’t** see anything! We all are flying in blind here!” he cried in desperation to get away from the wrath of the sky ”you have to call back the others and wait-”

” **Weakling!** ” the bigger Cherubim snarled at him with lightning striking the forest. The flaming sable they were holding burned brighter in the darkness ”we do not stop! We will find them. They are our Duty!”

Aziraphale didn’t feel any cold, but he still shook at the coldness in the other’s eyes. Ridwan looked disgusted at the smaller angels shaken form.

”I found the demon in the Garden who did this and smite them. However, they manage to escape my eyes,” they said instead and looked expectantly at his flaming sword still hanging innocently at his belt ”find the Adversary inside the Garden and finish the job!”

Aziraphale did see the demon a few months back, but he did not attack them since the enemy flew away from the Garden. They honestly didn’t act like the embodiment of evil or something like that. They didn’t even try to harm him that day.  
He kinda hoped the fiend did hear his warning and left.

”...Yes, Ridwan. I will do my duty and destroy the Adversary,” he said quietly to them. Ridwan nodded satisfied(how they could see anything in this dreadful weather was a mystery) with his answer, and they fly past him to keep searching with the remaining guardians after the lost humans.

Aziraphale flew back to the Garden in search of the meddling demon.

-

It didn’t take long for the angel to find a sign of battle inside the Garden. Broken tree branches and ruin grounds were two of the signs.  
He knew it had been a battle between immortals by the golden blood he found on the ground and the absolute destruction around him.  
Aziraphale was not sure it was Ridwan’s blood or the demons. It could be both for all he knew.

He decided to follow the blood trail to see where it leads to.  
Two out of the three blood trails he followed was dead ends.  
The last one leads him into a small cave where someone lay in the farther corner of the cave.

Or rather something.

It was a gigantic snake. Larger than any snake Aziraphale has ever seen before. This one was big enough to swallow him whole. Its scales were pitch black with a hint of reddish-golden spots. The part of its abdomen he could see was garnet red.  
He could also see it was injured.

And its drops of blood were gold.

Aziraphale quickly drew his sword from his belt, and with a little swoosh, it was surrounded by holy flames. The light from the sword lighted up the whole cave, and the demon snake began to move to face him. The angel took some steps back to get more room to fight.   
The snake curled up in full size, and it was already far bigger than him.  
It turned its massive head towards him, and he almost dropped his sword in horror for what he saw.

The demon snake has golden eyes.  
Stunning eyes, he most admits.

” Oh, eh... Hello,” Aziraphale said, unsure to the giant snake,” you are a demon... right?”

The giant snake just stared at him. Like it was confusing. Then its whole body shifted form and turned into a very angelic-looking demon with golden snake eyes, and curly garnet red hair.  
Aziraphale noticed the wings looked a bit odd.  
They could be broken.

”Hey Angel...” the former snake now turned demon said with an uncertain smile. Like they too were unsure what was going to happen next. They kept eyeing the sword in Aziraphale hand.

”Hi... demon?” Aziraphale said in the same uncertainty as to the demon. He couldn’t help but stare at the large wounds he has over his chest. He wants to do something about that.

”Crawly”

”Crawly, ah... I am Aziraphale”

”I K-ngk... right...”

”Right”

None of them moved towards each other nor backed away from each other either. They just stared. Aziraphale noted that the demon looked at him with intense, unblinking eyes; he tried not to let it bother him.

”Soo, this is-” the demon Crawly suddenly crumbled to the ground with a pained” fuck...”

”Oh! Oh dear,” Aziraphale didn’t think, he just acted to help another being in need. He gently helped the demon to lay on his back. Crawly tried lamely to resist his help, ”don’t move.”

”Y-you are not supposed to help me, Angel,” Crawly croaked weakly while the angel removed his black robe (which was covered in golden blood) to examine the wounds ”you are supposed to hate me... or just... smite me.”

” I can always smite you when you feel better,” Aziraphale muttered as an excuse and grimaces at the deep chest wound. No mortal would have survived an injury that deep. Then again, Natoque were not humans ”fighting change and all of that.”

” I would like that...” Crawly muttered weakly, then hissed when Aziraphale began to close the wounds with his magic without asking for permission. The demon refuses to lay still while he healed him, so the angel decided to put the demon to sleep to prevent him from jerking around in pain while he was working. He lay his hand over Crawly’s eyes(who was too weak to protest) and muttered a gently ”sleep” before the demon went limp in his arms.

  
He began the healing process again and started up by healing the most substantial wounds first in case he did not have enough magical reserves to heal all of his injuries. Most of Crawly’s wounds most have been made by the flaring wings of a Cherubim, who was known to have feathers sharp as steel.  
He remembered that Ridwan also has some nasty wounds too so Crawly did not just lay down and take a beating.  
He managed to close up the large chest wound and five smaller wounds on his arms, shoulder, and neck. He still has some energy back, so he decided to check his back for any damage there too.  
He gently rolled the demon on his stomach, mindful of his-

Wings...  
the demon used to have two pair of wings

”God, what have they **done** to you?” Aziraphale gasped in horror. His stomach dropped in disgust when looking at his old scars. At least they have clipped them clean off.

A terrifying excuse.

Aziraphale notices something about his last remaining wings. They looked more animated than other Natoque’s. He gently lay a hand on the wings and felt that his wings have more than one set of bones.  
It was a very confusing discovery.

He used to have four wings like a Cherubim, but have the body like a Seraphim and ears and claws like an archangel.  
Aziraphale felt a morbid joy.  
This demon was like him!  
He was born different.

Aziraphale could not hold an excited laugh back, but he quickly got a hold of himself and went back to work.  
There were no fatal wounds on his back, so now the demon was out of life-threatening danger.

Aziraphale looked at the messy wings with a powerful urge to touch and preen them. He quickly took his hands to his chest with horror.

'Groom an enemy’s feather? What has gotten into you, old boy?'

But... this demon was like him. Different.  
Was he poorly treated by the other demons like Aziraphale was by the angels?  
Raphael has protected Aziraphale, but he was not sure this poor fellow has been lucky enough to have a protector.  
  
'the demon could not be angry at him for grooming him, right? we could always fight later... after the demon was in better health, right? God, what am I doing? ‘

If it was desperation to have someone around who was like him. Need someone else affections or something else there made Aziraphale put his hands on the demon’s feather, he did not know. It was just a need to touch someone else for once.

With shaking hands, he slowly began to clean the blacken feathers and remove the broken one.  
He nearly ripped out the feathers he was holding when he heard wing beat outside the cave.

  
By pure instinct to protect, Aziraphale’s wings spread over Crawly in an apparent mantle gesture. The angel kept a sharp eye on the entry of the cave, luckily the wingbeats outside sounded too small to be from another angel.  
If someone did go inside the cave, they would have thought Aziraphale was a giant owl protecting its young.  
Aziraphale did not relax in his mantle position while he kept working on Crawly’s wings.

  
He tried to keep the excitement of touching someone else feathers down to a minimum.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly felt pretty comfortable at the current moment. He was warm and was not in pain for once.  
As you can imagine, living in Hell was not pleasant in any way or form. Higher-ranking demons could be down-right bloodthirsty. Living under a mountain did not help on his forever cold body either.  
Unknowingly to Crawly, he sought out the warmth there was right behind him.  
If warmth could stiff, it just did, when he curled around it like the snake he was.

'Wait... warmth can’t freeze up'

He opened his eyes and looked straight into something with sky blue eyes.  
Or rather... someone.

‘Aziraphale...’  
It was clear that Aziraphale did not reorganize him, and it was probably for the best when he thinks about it. Ashamed, he quickly tried to crawl away from the angel, but he never got very far when pain shoots through him. Aziraphale tried to get closer to him. It was fist now he noticed his blacking feather lying around the angel.

”You plucked me?” he asked devastated.

”No! How can you think I would do something so barbaric” the angel snapped back, clearly offended ”I only removed your broken ones and-”

”Wait... did you just admit that you... preened a demon?”

The angel gawked at him before a guilty look run over his face.

”You clearly can’t fly with broken ones,” he said with a slightly dismissive tone.  
Crawly just stared at Aziraphale with open mouth. He did not just hear those words out of the angel’s mouth. That crazy angel did it again, leaving him all confused and questioning things around him. He spread his wings out to look at how much has been preen, and he saw that the right wings were nicely groomed, and the other one was half-way done. He folded his wings but then winced when pain shot through him again.  
For a moment, he forgot why he was in a dark cave in the first place.

” Oh dear, I didn’t realize you could have internal bleeding too” the angel quickly got over to him and helped him to lay down. Crawly tried to protest(still have that high-rank pride in him which have not been fully beaten out of him yet), but it was clear the angel was having none of it  
”don’t make this harder for yourself, Crawly.”

”You know my name?” Crawly asked, confused. He stopped resisting the angel’s help and instead tried to resist the urge to sigh in contentment when the angel’s healing magic and natural warm aura soothed his body and soul.  
It was so strange how comfortable he was in Aziraphale’s presence. As an angel, he only even bothered to be around due to him being ordered to protect him.

”You told me your name,” the angel said matter of fact. He lay his hands over his stomach with a holy glow. The Holiness did hurt a little due to him being a demon.

” Oh... yeah, so I did,” Crawly muttered, he most have forgotten due to him being in pain and high on survival instinct. He decided to play dumb and asked:”did you tell me your name?”

” I did” the angel touched his chest(Crawly kept down an awful pleasant shiver. What is wrong with him???), still looking for internal damages. he notices the large wound he got from the fight with the large Cherubim was gone.

”Oh, right... Aphale right?” the demon muttered, saying his name wrong on purpose. Aziraphale just gave him a slightly amused look before looked his wings over again. He was very fussy about getting him in tip-top health Crawly noted:”Why are you helping me anyways?”

Aziraphale stopped his work on him while thinking about what the demon said. A lot of emotions ran over his face. 

”...Felt like the right thing to do.” he finally said.   
Aziraphale began to work on his half finish feathers again. His move surprised the demon, but he did not mention it to the angel. It looked like it was something he needed to do, and Crawly didn’t say no to free grooming. Those things were rare ever since his fall, and he did know Aziraphale was pretty good a preening.

”The right thing to do? Helping the enemy?”

”At the current moment, you are not my enemy. You are someone who requires help.”

” Ehh.... right.”

The two immortal beings went into a comfortable silence while the angel fixed up the demon’s wing. The demon, on the other hand, kept looking at the angel’s scruffy-looking wings. Aziraphale didn’t have broken feathers. His wings just seemed like a ball of feathers there have been tossed around by a tornado.  
Without thinking and still remembering how soft Aziraphale's wings are; Crawly began to comb the white-blue wings, so they at least looked a little like wings again.  
Aziraphale stiffed when Crawly first touched his wings, and that made the demon freeze too.

They both looked at each other with shock, confusion, and curiosity.  
None of them understood why they accepted each other’s company so readily.

  
Crawly did not know why he was suddenly so attached to someone he once despised.

  
Aziraphale knew he should not show so much kindness to a demon, but he wanted him around.  
The angel was the first one to continue his work on the demon’s wings and after some curious look from a said demon. Crawly too began working on Aziraphale wings.

Both of them noted mentally to never speak of this to anyone in the near future.  
This was their little secret.

-

Crawly relaxed (he hasn’t yet experienced the comfort of sleeping yet) in the presence of the angel who has allowed him to lay under one of his warm wings. It was incredibly lovely, but it was something he would never say out loud to his sworn enemy. Crawly didn’t understand many things yet. He surely didn’t understand these confusing feelings he has towards Aziraphale. Those feelings made his stomach feel all tinkling and heart do some funny loopy-loop.  
He didn’t understand them, and he didn’t dare to speak them out loud.

Crawly looked over the wing and at the owner of them who were watching the entry of the cave-like a hawk. He knew the angel was waiting for something. His own eyes glanced at the entrance, which was just as dark as the cave.  
Then he heard thunder.  
And the angel began to move.

”Come one, get up, quickly,” Aziraphale said and fuzzed over him to get up.

” Wha-?”

” Use the rain and the darkness as your cover; we can’t see very well in the storms-”

” Angel?” he tried. He was so confused about what was going on with the angel right now. Aziraphale manages to push him outside where it was dark, cold, and rainy... again.  
The magic around the Garden was gone.

” Make yourself smaller and more like a regular snake and-”

” Aziraphale-”

” No, you listen, you-” the angel in question looked like he wanted to call him something terrible which came out as; ”wily serpent”. Crawly frowned at him. it just sounded like a silly pet name if you asked the snake demon  
”you will run-crawl-whatever a snake do, and you will never come back to this Garden. You will hide, and you will stay hidden.”

  
He began pushing Crawly out of the cave who tried to protest by turning around but stopped when he saw Aziraphale have picked up his flaming sword again with steel in his blue eyes.  
”don’t make me hunt you, Crawly.”

  
His words came out trembling. The demon just knew that the angel didn’t want to hurt him more than he wants to hurt the angel.

Crawly only hesitated a little before he shoots up in the air like a small rocket(even though they were not invented yet) and flew as fast as he could out of the Garden of Eden and into the storm.

He didn’t look back when he nose-dived to the ground outside the Garden.  
He didn’t look back when he turned into a small corn snake and slithered away in the darkness.  
He didn’t look back to see the Guardian of the Eastern gate look after him and prayed to the Almighty that the other angels would not find him soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- found out Ridwan was listed as one of the angels who got tricked by Satan who hides in the mouth of a serpent.  
> \- I headcanon that angels and demons can change animal form. makes more sense in different circumstances


	10. Cain and Abel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> extra details in the bottom.

Only a handful of years went by with Crawly going back to Hell on the planet called Anuvina and told them about his success of ‘Tempting,’ the first of God’s humans to sin.

‘I did them a bloody favor is what I did,’ he thought when the other demons congratulate him.

Satan praised him for a good job and wanted to reward him in any way he saw fit. Crawly told him that he wanted to be the chief demon on Earth and the one who did most of the tempting on that planet too.

Samael told him that he liked it when Crawly thought more prominent than the ordinary demon, and for a second, Crawly was scared Satan was going to hug him.  
He hasn't forgotten what Satan did to him. 

He was soon sent back to temp some more humans to the evil side.  
He just needed to find the humans first, of course, and that is what took most of his time.

-

With probably the luck of the Devil himself, he manages to find the clan Adam and Eve have integrated into. The clan was not big, only around 20 people or so. They live quite nicely for a bunch of half-naked people.

Crawly watched for a distance and saw that Adam and Eve now have two sons. One of them was at least five years older than the youngest.

The demon smiled happy that they manage to make themselves a new life between the other humans, and he decided to stick around for a while.

He has nothing better to do, after all.

-

”What in Heaven are you doing here?!” Crawly hissed when he found Aziraphale plant some seeds into the ground, not far away from the Adam and Eve’s immigrating clan. The angel jumped in surprise and was close to litter all of the plant seeds he had in a satchel.

”What am I doing here? What are **you** doing here?” Aziraphale snapped back, just as surprised to see him.

”Following the humans, of course!”

”Oh God! you found Adam and Eve?”

”More stumbled into them,” he tried to avoid looking at the angel’s exciting face ”they have kids and all now.”

”Kids? Oh dear, I don’t think I can bring them all back to the Eden.”

”Two boys. I am calling them Cain and Abel if you liked to know...”

”Oh, even worse. They only want the two adults.”

”You are going to take the parents away from the kids?”

”Oh Heavens no” Aziraphale looked appalled at him for even mention that ”I am just going to guard them out here then, it can’t be worse than guarded them on the Eastern wall.”

”Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” Crawly grinned. Aziraphale gave him a confused look,” it is a saying you know like- nevermind.”

”Ah, well, it is my duty to protect them,” the angel said and hoisted his satchel better on his shoulder, making sure he still has his flaming sword(to the demon’s dismay)and looked expediently at Crawly ”lead the way, if you please.”

”Wait, just like that? No smiting or something in that fashion?” Crawly asked confused. Sure, he didn’t want to be smitten, and he wants to spend some time with the odd angel without fearing for his life, but this was just strange.  
He knew Aziraphale has always been the odd one out, but this was ridiculous.

”If someone asks you can tell them I... ‘persuasive’ you to take me to the humans of Eden,” Aziraphale suggested innocently ”whatever fits you best, of course.”

”I get the idea,” he gestured to Aziraphale to follow him. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes the angel’s wings were twitching in excitement.  
He tried not to smile at the sight.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale gasped in happiness when he saw the humans of Eden. He quickly walked down to them to talk to them even if the human race has not learned to speak in a more sophisticated language yet.  
At first, the humans of Eden and the people around them were a bit uneasy with the angel, but after they found out, he meant no harm, they slowly welcomed him as a part of the clan.  
Crawly chuckled to himself, and he too went down to the clan. They have years ago accepted the demon as one of them after he saved Adam and Eve’s oldest child Cain from a hungry lion.  
The kids of the clan, including Cain and Abel, notice the black-cloaked immortal and right away runs up to him to pet(he quickly learned them not to yank) his black feathers. Laughing, he scooped the a still very young Cain and the older Abel ran up to him and Crawly took them both up in his arms and walked casually over to Aziraphale. The angel was fussing over Adam, who has wounds on his arm made on a hunting accident.  
The angel frowned when he noticed the children under his wings and the two in his arms.

”I didn’t know you liked human outsprings.”

”Me either. Found out I did a few years ago.”

”It looks like they like you.”

”Oh no, they can’t stand me.”  
the demon grinned at the angel’s confused frown

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

”Why in the world are you carrying those?” Crawly asked while the small clan slept. Being an immortal being meant they didn’t sleep, eat or drink and since the two Natoque only have their own eyes to see in the darkness, they both decided to sit down and keep an eye on the clan and waited for the sunrise to do more exciting things there could not be done in bad lightning. Crawly pointed at the satchel(he remembered that Aziraphale had that thing when he found him that day out in the forest) packed with what he guessed was plant seeds.

”They are seeds from the Garden. I was told to spread them out in the entire world,” he stated merely with both his hands around the satchel. Crawly raised an eyebrow at him,” only the plants there give food and medicine! The almighty told us to remove the immortality gene from them.”

”But not the drug up part? How **nice** ,” he hissed like a snake. Aziraphale looked a bit guilty, ”what?”

”I... I removed that part on as many seeds I could, but I am afraid I didn’t get to all of them.”

”Well, at least you tried,” the demon mutter. Crawly saw Aziraphale’s many eyes looking at something at a distance, and he looked at that directions and saw a pride of lions walking a bit too close to the sleeping clan. Crawly snapped his fingers, the lion pride disappeared in thin air and probably appeared somewhere else. If he and Aziraphale were not keeping an eye on the clan, they would at least lost three people that night. Crawly tried to be subtle when he eyed the flaming sword once again by acting like he sat on a sharp rock and needed to move.

”I am not going to use it against you,” Aziraphale said. So much for being subtle. "you are no way a threat toward the humans of Eden, nor their outspring.”

”Oddly kind for an angel to say.”

”I’m just following my duty.”

”of coursssse,” Crawly looked thoughtful at him. Was Aziraphale always this soft and friendly?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

”Oh, oh dear, please don’t touch those. Abel no, they are not- Cain, Cain no I- oh, oh dear.”

Crawly was on the ground laughing at the predicament Aziraphale has to lead himself into. All the kids of the clan walked after the angel like a bunch of ducklings after their mother. They tried to or already did pet Aziraphale white-blue wings.

It was fucking entertainment and adorable!

Aziraphale, who was not used to people wanted to touch his wings with gentle hands and was too nice for his own good to tell the brats off, keep trying to ‘run’ away from the kids like a big ruffled up chicken.

”They just want to preen you!” he laughed after the fleeing angel.

”They do not! They don’t even know what that word even means,” Aziraphale snapped back. He looked like he wanted to fly away but was afraid he hit one of the younger kids by accident if he tried. Crawly cooled down with his laughter before he jumped up from the ground and walked up beside the angel.

”Sit still and let them pet you” he tried to make the angel sit on one of the bigger stones in the temporary camp. Aziraphale barely moved an inch and glared at him with the same might as a field mouse.

”I am above such behavior,” Aziraphale huffed and ruffled his feathers in annoyance. The kids seem delighted at his sudden fluffiness.

”Tell that to them,” the demon laughed and gestured at the laughing kids around them. Aziraphale keep stared stubbornly at him. Crawly sighed and spread his wings out, which the kids immediately runs over to pet him.  
”look, it is not that bad.”

”Well, I...”

”Would I lie to you?”

”Obviously, you are a demon, that’s what you do” Crawly raised an eyebrow. That was the lamest insult he has ever heard, and Hell was beginning to come up with some good ones. With a small sigh, Aziraphale finally yielded to his fate of being petted by a bunch of human kids and sat down on the stone Crawly told him to sit on. The angel still flinched from time to time when the kids got too excited about his wings,  
”careful, careful. Oh, heavens, they are too intrigued about our wings.”

”We are a pretty special bunch for them” Crawly shrugged and playfully growled to a teenage Cain was beginning to touch the bone of his feathers a bit roughly. The adolescent boy quickly stopped and ran behind his older brother, who was laughing at him. Crawly chuckled at the human’s eagerness, and he decided to try to be a bit bold around his co-called enemy ”move an inch angel.”

Aziraphale imitated a goldfish while he moved to give space to Crawly on the stone. Slowly he took hold of Aziraphale left-wing and began to groom them as they did inside the cave in Eden.  
None of them said anything at the metaphorical elephant in the room.  
Crawly spread his long black wings out and let the kids pet-groom his wings.

”You are encouraging them,” Aziraphale sighed softly, while Crawly combing his wing. The demon looked at the kids around them who were either petting them or playing with their broken feathers.

”No I’m not” he playfully huffed

”Liar”  
Crawly couldn’t help but smile at the angel’s comeback.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale watched from a distance, how the human clan managed to take down an injured antelope and were currently in progress to slice the meat so they could eat it. the angel looked over to Crawly, who have collected a bunch of dry branches and have started a fire for them. Aziraphale knew that the humans were aware of how to use fire; they just haven’t learned to contain it yet. The young adult Cain and Abel were very interested in how to make fire and stayed close to the demon to pick up some points on how to make a fire for themselves.

The angel walked over to them and sat down by the fire.  
Abel greeted him with a wave that he has learned from the angel himself. The young human was very proud of himself after haven learned this, and he still tried to learn the other humans of the clan the same with mixed success.

“Why do you think they do it?” Crawly suddenly asked him while he lay some of the meat into the fire to cook it. It didn’t look like the fire itself bothered the demon.

“Doing what?” Aziraphale asked. Crawly pointed at the meat like he were not sure what the meaning of it is, “oh! They are eating it to get energy. if they don’t eat or drink water, they will starve and die.”

“How?”

“Not sure. Sukka told me that other beings need food and water and a good night's sleep to survive. We don’t need it obviously, but we are not like the rest of them either, of course.”

Both of them looked at the humans who were ‘chatting’ with each other, the clan leader took some of the meat first, and the rest of them quickly followed suit. Aziraphale made sure the older Adam and Eve got a piece too. Cain and Abel went into a smaller dominance fight with each other. Either Natoque stopped the quarrel, and soon Cain walked away with a bigger meat piece his younger brother.

“Do you think they get bored with only eating meat?” Crawly asked

“They eat more than just meat, Crawly. I have seen them munching on fruits and roots too. meat is a rarity for them; that is why all of them are so eager to get a piece.”

“Hm,” the demon hummed. He looked thoughtful at the humans, “don’t you think it would be easier if they have meat around them all the time?”

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Like... if they have animals around them, you know? so they didn’t have to run around to get the skin to keep themselves warm or need to walk days without food” Crawly tried to explain while waving his hands like he was building an invisible box “a lot of them would have died ten-times over if we were not with them.”

“You mean like... domestication?” Aziraphale asked unsurely. He has a feeling it was that Crawly was trying to say.

“Yeah?” Crawly said. He made a warning growl to the clan leader who tried to steal some meat from Abel. The clan leader quickly backed away from them both since he was fully aware that Crawly was stronger than he looks like. The demon patted Abel’s shoulder, who gave him a grateful look before going back to munching on his food, “make everything easier for them.”

Aziraphale thought about Crawly said and then looked at Adam and Eve, who were beginning to get a bit old by the other humans’ standard.  
“Well, worth the try. have to report to Heaven first about this,” he said.

“Right, do me a favor and don't tell them about me. I’ll try finding some animal which will stay around” Crawly came upon his feet, and Abel quickly followed him since the human was interested in learning new things “do you think goats are a good idea?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I was watching with amusement on how a certain angel and demon were getting along. my little plan worked better than I hoped for and I still waited for the metaphorical penny to drop and see what path the angel would choose. right now I knew it was too early to that to happen but it was still a curious thing to see them working together. 

“Sister” I didn't need to turn to see it was my sister of the stars who landed beside me as a blue bird. I myself have taken the form as a white owl. 

“Ah, Hello, Kitas. what brings you here?” I hummed while I watched the scenery in front of me.

“I was bored, and then I heard that from Darlain that you decided to push things a little forward here on Earth. is that true?” Kitas side glance at the start of human civilization. 

“Yes and no. I didn’t interfere with how things work here. That place is our other sibling’s job. not mine” 

“And yet, you have your... what do you call them?” Kitas rolled her head like she thought hard about the so-called word. I knew she was playing since she was possibly the smartest of all of us. 

“Natoque” I played along

“Yes, you have your Natoque running around on Earth.”

“There are currently only two. a demon and an angel.” I pointed them out to her. Kitas looked at them with me. 

“Drama much? heard they don’t like each other”

“Actually, they seem pretty close. I am going to tell Darlain to make sure they meet up as often as possible.” I smiled  
  
Kitas smiled too, but for a whole other reason  
“.... did you just ship them?”

“Please. that saying will not be used before the year 2000. I prefer the term ‘the great plan’ of God.” I feigned arrogance. 

“HAH! you are sometimes terrible!” Kitas laughed sounded like a singing bird. nobody could see what we really were because we did not allow others to see us. 

“I know. Now, why did you come to me?” I asked her. Kitas alays have reasons to visit the rest of us and I could see in her blue eyes she were up to something. 

she smiled to me  
"I am thinking about kickstarts agriculture and domestication a bit earlier than expected. I know the white one over there is thinking about doing something about my little side project”

"and?"

"well, I am just here to be polite and telling you I am going to borrow your domain for a little while"

I turned my whole head towards her with a surprised frown. Kitas were very bold today, but I was also curious about where she was going with this.

"be my guest. just don't change anything. I like the way it is set up"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale slowly walked inside God's domain. He was glad the Guard outside believed his lie. He still felt very bad lying to a fellow angel, but it was the only way he could talk to God lately.

It has gotten harder and harder to talk to Her without having an appointment.

“God?” he called out the spirit lake “I..I need to talk to You about... oh dear, what am I doing?”

“ _ **What you are doing is helping the humankind to advance themselves**_ ” Aziraphale jumped when he heard a voice. It was not God, but they have the same might in the voice as She has.  
When he looked up he saw a creature covered in stars and galaxies. It was slim in build and when he looked better; he realized some of the stars were **looking back** at him. Above the head, there was a small galaxy which swirled slowly with the same ancient power as their blue eyes hold. The wings reminded him of an angel, except he couldn't see where they ended. they were like a blanket of the never-ending night sky.

Aziraphale watched the new Creator float down to him on large wings and landed on the water with the same grace as a swan.

“ **Hello, Aziraphale. I go under many names and none of those name have been written yet,** ” the other creator said with a very distinct female voice. Her eyes were even bluer than his own “ _ **I am the guiding stars and the knowledge many seeks**_ ”

“H-hello,” the angel said breathlessly “I was not aware there was more than You”

“ _ **You never asked if there were more of us. If you don't ask, how can you expect an answer?**_ ” the Star God said

“Right... do you know where God is?”

“ _ **My sister is currently outside the time where she is looking for what the future will bring,**_ ” She said with an amusing smile. Aziraphale looked at Her perplex at that type of answer

“Outside the time?”

“ _ **Our kind are outside of time. We are the keeper of timeline. It has no meaning for us**_ ” She said “ _ **what you wanted to say to my sister can you say to me. I will tell her or stand in her place if needed**_ ”

“Oh, right” Aziraphale mumbled. It did make things a lot easier if he were honest with himself. This God acted more relaxed of answering the universe, then keeping them as his God did.  
“I will just ask if we-I mean **I** have the permission to help the humans- what I mean by that is helping the humans of Eden of course, to get better access to food by... you know, staring agriculture?”

The Star God tipped Her head to the side with a curious look in Her blue eyes  
“ _ **You are asking me if you have permission to help people staring farming and domesticating?**_ ”

“Yes?”  
Aziraphale stepped back when the God's body turned into millions of stars right in front of his eyes and a second later; a young woman with curly red hair stood in front of him. Her hair was not as red as Crawly's, but it was almost a curly as the demon. He also noticed She have freckles.

“ _ **Aziraphale,**_ ” She said with the same tone a mother will say to a child who was confused over something “ _ **Humans will learn theses things no matter you help them or not. By helping this clan,, you make sure their generation has a higher chance of survival due to your intertwining.**_ ”

“It doesn't matter we help them or not?” Aziraphale asked unsurely.

“ _ **In the short run. Yes. In the long run, no**_ ” She smiled “ _ **by learning a small part of the humankind now, you make sure they have a far better chance of having decedent when the Ark will be built**_ ”

“Ark? What Ark?”

“ _ **It will take too long to explain everything I see of the future. The only thing you should care about right now; is you should do what you think is best. Is it best to guide the ones you like, like the stars or is it best to seek knowledge to teach the next generation a better way of living**_ ” Aziraphale opened his mouth to respond but then realized he has no idea how to respond to her. She smiled amused at him “ _ **you don't need to answer me. I only want you to remember my words. Go back to the humans and teach them**_ ”

with those words, She turned back to Her Ancient form and flew off. Aziraphale followed Her with his eyes but when he blinked with his eyes, it was like She have turned into the stars the second he didn't look.  
Still a bit confused, Aziraphale decided to return back to Earth.

-

After gotten permission from one of the Gods, Aziraphale began teaching the humans how to start agriculture. It was difficult since they barely talked(and what they could say we’re still a bit primitive), but he manages to make them understand how to sow and take care of wheat and fruits with a lot of gesture and showing.  
Cain and a few others from the clan did show a high interest in being able to create their own food without searching for it all the time.

Aziraphale saw how Crawly, Abel, and some few others, have captured some wild goats and began to herd them closer to the clan. It was a bit funny to see the demon running after the goats through most of the week(the animals did not like the demon at all. probably felt the predator in him) and how Abel of all people ended up teaching the demon how to approach the animals.  
Crawly being close to the animals was a mixed success.

-

years went by, and through those years, the two Natoque have managed to make sure that the clan was able to keep a small herd of goats near them, and the new age of agriculture was slowly beginning to take form.

-

”Aziraphale?” the angel looked at the approaching demon with an uncertain look. He stood on top on a hill looking down on the migrating humans and the up-coming storm in the horizon ”what are you doing up here?”

”I... don’t know who I shall follow anymore” he looked at the frowning demon ”it was so easy to follow them when they were all together but now...”

”Cain is going to leave the clan his parents live in” Crawly finish, and he too looked the human clan. A smaller group has separated from the bigger one. It was Cain’s new group of his mates, children, and few other younger adults. The clan has gotten too big to give enough food for all of them, so most of the young adults were encouraged to leave the clan, it also helped to make sure new blood came into the family. Aziraphale looked at another far bigger group, which was Adam and Eve’s clan. He was not sure anymore who of them he should be following for now on.  
”you could stay with Adam and Eve’s clan. They are your priority, since she is expecting again and.... You know, being the original inhabitant of the Eden and all.”

Aziraphale made a pained expression,  
”But should I protect all of them? They are their kids after all and ever since Abel died-”

both grimaced.  
Abel’s dead have been a freak accident,. Cain was found weeping by Abel's mangled body. No one was sure what had happened on their hunting trip. Only Cain knew, and he was unable to tell the two Natoque what really happened. The angel and the demon have a feeling a lion or a hippopotamus killed the younger man and his older brother was unable to do anything but watch.  
The oldest son of the humans of Eden has not been himself after that, and he took a bunch of the domesticating wild goats with him to make sure to no one in his small group will die of hunger. He has never been good at growing plant life as his younger brother was so that knowledge was something his clan couldn’t take with them.

”You can’t be more place at once, angel,” Crowley said softly, ”you have to choose one of them to follow.”

”I-I think I have to follow Adam and Eve. They are the original ones of the Eden and-”

”Wait a minute,” the demon interrupted and circled the suddenly nervous angel. Not because of the circling, Aziraphale has gotten used to that odd behavior lately. No, it was his intense looking at his empty belt, ”where is your sword?”

”I-I...”

”You know the big flaming thing you usually carry around-”

”I gave it away,” Aziraphale said quickly and looked guilty away. The surprise on the demon’s face was priceless.

”You **what?** ”

”I gave it to Cain!” Aziraphale busted out and tried to explain, ”his group is so small. There are vicious animals. it’s going to be cold out there!”

”You gave away your flaming sword-” Crawly laughed ”because you were afraid they would not have enough warmth at night?”

”Well, ehm yes. I guess I did,” Aziraphale mumbled and looked into the ground for a little moment before he faced his former friend ”you don’t think I did the wrong thing by giving him the sword, do you? I-I mean, it is a gift from God, after all.”

”Oh, you’re an angel. I don’t think you can do the wrong thing” Crawly said with some humor in his voice, Aziraphale did not fully understand ”they are the perfections after all.”

”...Debatable,” Aziraphale mumbled.

A moment of silence between them, the human clans were already small dots on the horizon. It was no concern for either the angel or the demon.

”You know what is funny” Crawly suddenly said with a thoughtful expression ”that I; as a demon, did the right thing with the whole helping the two humans in leaving the Garden of Eden and you, and Angel; did the wrong thing by giving a mental unstable-”

"It is called grief, Crawly.”

” -A grief stroke man, your flaming sword. You know a demon can get into a lot of trouble for doing the right thing. it’d be funny if we both got it wrong?” Aziraphale winched at the thought that the demon would get in trouble because of both of their actions. he did notice Crawly giving in an amusing side glance, ”it is funny if I did the good thing, and you did the bad one?”

Aziraphale gave him a troubled look by that thought on what the other angels would do to him if he did just that.

”...I don’t think I would survive a clipping if it comes to that”  
Crawly got a traumatic look in his eyes which were unseen by the angel. Aziraphale looked up and a raindrop landed on his cheek. The rain began to fall fast and faster. The demon shivered by the cold rain and unconscious began to seek out the warmest thing in the area which was the angel beside him. Aziraphale looked at the demon who slowly walked beside him. The angel smiled gently to the demon and spread out his left wing and Crawly quickly took shelter under the wing.  
The rain didn't bother Aziraphale and he was more than happy to help out the only being he could call his friend lately.

Being different together were the best company they both could ask for.  
Aziraphale knew when the rain stopped; he would follow Adam and Eve once again.  
He already knew this would probably be the last time he would see Crawly.  
So he decided to make their last encounter count.

-

Many years later, Aziraphale returned to the Garden of Eden with three other Cherubs.  
Or what was left of it.  
The Eden has been abandon by the Heavenly host and lets nature take what once belonged to it. The ice walls have been gone for a long time. The desert from the East has taken over more than half of the once green Garden.  
Now... it was only a small oasis where thirsty animals and humans can come to drink at the ever-expanding desert.  
The life-saving oasis is the only thing left of the Garden, and this is the reason why the three Natoque came to this place with two human bodies with them.

Adam and Eve have died of old age.  
They lived a long and happy life.  
And Aziraphale has stayed with them until their last breath.

Aziraphale has contacted the other angels to tell them about the death of the two original humans of Eden. Uriel, Suryal, and Selaphiel came to him, and they took the bodies of Adam and Eve to bury them where they originally belonged.  
Aziraphale followed them to show his last respect to his two dear human friends. He and Uriel watched Suryal and Selaphiel lay both bodies in a grave together(‘fitting’ thought Aziraphale) in the last remnants of the Garden. He mumbled a small prayer to them while they were buried.  
The sandy-yellow winged Selaphiel and gray winged Suryal quickly left after the duty was done, but Uriel stayed with him for a reason he didn’t care at the current moment, and he still took his precious time to grieve.

”Aziraphale, the former guardian of the Eastern gate,” she finally said after 5 minutes of silence.

”Yes, Arch Uriel?” he looked at her. Uriel was technical, not his boss, but old habits die hard. She has black to golden wings, and her eyes were the same gold too. She too have a flaming sword, but it was a bit smaller than he were. Uriel also has large golden scars on her face, which did show him that she has been in her fair share of battles.  
He sometimes wonders who gave her those scars.

”Where is your weapon. The one, our Lord, gave you?” she asked him.

”Sword? Oh right, the flaming sword,” Aziraphale said a bit nervous. He knew his bleeding heart was going to get him into trouble, and yet, he didn’t regret his decision” right. big, sharp, cutty thing?”

”Where is the sword, Aziraphale?” she asked again, this time more serious.

”Uh... must have, uh-- must have put it down here somewhere. Uhm... forget my own head sometimes,” he chuckled nervously and looked helplessly after his non-exiting sword.

” **Where** is the **sword?** ”  
he flinched a little by the anger in her voice.

”... Somewhere...?”

”Did you lose it?”

”Not... exactly?”

Her cold stare sends a shiver down his spine, but he did not move. She looked at him for a good while before she turned around and saying seriously;  
”This will be reported to our Creator. you **will** be punished for this”

”Ah... yes... of course,” he mutters after her. One last look at him, she flew off and into a suddenly open portal in the air. Aziraphale didn’t follow her, but he knew he would be dragged back if he didn’t come willing back. He took a sizeable scared breath of air before exhaling again to calm his nerves for his certain doom  
” oh, dear...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I decided not to make the typical story of Cain killing Able. I decided to go the "Kept Secret but not Forgotten"(this is a H.C Andersen fairytale about one feather from a hen can turn into a lot of dead hens with eager gossip) story way, because I like to re-think old stories to were I can. 
> 
> \- Selaphiel and Suryal were not known in the biblical text to bury Adam and Eve. they are known to 'hide' them from Satan's eyes by bringing them to the cave of treasures in a mountain.  
> what kind of treasure we are talking about, I have no idea. 
> 
> \- Uriel is the only one known to have buried Adam in Eden. but not Eve for some reason. instead, it is Abel who was buried with his father. it is because she ate that stupid apple first and now she is not allowed to be buried beside her husband. Adam is not innocent either by what I found in some text. some of them said he got frisky with some demons and got Nephilim children out of that.  
> so I will say Eve's crime is lesser than his.  
> anyway; I decided to make it to Adam and Eve for my own sanity sake. 
> 
> \- Samael is sometimes said to be Cain's father together with Lilith(or Naamah. sometimes both, depending on the texts). I didn't add that since I think some text does this to 'explain' why a man would kill his brother. if you ask me; you don't need to have demonic parents to commit murder. sometimes people just do bad stuff for dump reasons. 
> 
> \- Jibrail (or Gabriel) were also known in texts to have talked with Adam after Exile. but I can't honestly see Good Omens Gabe doing such a thing. he would probably have said "hey man, forget your kids and this so-called freedom. go back to Eden where you belong". 
> 
> \- Hadraniel or Raziel also talked to Adam about some book of secrets. many that can be found in the cave of wonder? anyway; this book was not kept by the humans since the angels didn't like that and threw that poor book into the ocean where it was destroyed.  
> Angels are literally like; "if we can't know the secrets, no one can!"  
> Aziraphale would surely strangle the angel who did the book tossing. 
> 
> \- Israfil(Raphael), Azrael, Abaddon(as an angel, of course) were known to help to create Adam by fetching dirt from the four corners of Earth. 
> 
> \- Eleleth is told to save Norea who was either daughter or second wife to Adam. didn't add either of these characters into the story since Norea's relationship with Adam does not sit well with me if you think too hard about the unknowingness of her being wife or daughter of Adam. 
> 
> \- Harut and Marut were said to have tempted Adam and Eve, but I guess they lost that title since Crawly did that first. again; some text say that some demon named Gadreel or Samael did that too soooo.... eh.


	11. Noah’s Ark

It has nearly been a half a millennia since Crawly last saw the odd angel. He was incredibly bored, and he began to hate Hell more and more. The other demons turned crueler while fighting over who got the best rank and who were the lowest on the food chain. Crawly has avoided these fights as best as he could but it was harder to do after many demons lusted after more power they didn't have in Heaven.

Crawly took every chance he got to get out of that place.  
Since he has no angel to talk to, he has followed some humans who began to settle down to one place instead of migrating all the time. There was still a lot of them there never settled down, but he tried to stay friends with those who didn’t move as much.  
He was not a horse or happy to sit on horseback, for Heaven’s sake!

Not all humans were happy to have him around; some of them even felt threatened by him.  
They could probably feel the snake in him.  
It didn’t matter to him; he still cursed them for throwing rocks at him.  
So Crawly tried to figure out why they were scared of him.

And the answer was simple.  
Big blacken wing, claws, eyes like a snake, and teeth were not something humans saw as ‘friendly.’  
So he tried to think outside the box and being a little creative.  
If he wanted to stay near humans, it is probably best to look like a human.

The change in his body was uncomfortable, to say it nicely. It didn’t hurt, but it was not a pleasant feeling either.  
His claws got smaller, and his legs didn’t look so reptilian anymore, but it did give him a strange swagger when walking. Ears got smaller and yet still a bit pointy. Teeth were flattening out, and his canine stayed pointy, though. Wings were the hardest to change. He first tried to make them invisible. Still, people kept bumping into them, so he ended up metamorphose them into his back, and the extra bones in his back were unfortunate visible if someone saw his back, so he made sure always to wear some sort of clothing over him.  
He didn’t even try to change his eyes. The mere thought to poke around his eyeball was enough to give him the shivers. The humans just have to live with those or suffer the consequences.

-

A handful of weeks later; He saw the strange angel again. The angel was watching a little family from a distance. The demon gleefully walked up to the angel with a certain swagger he has gotten since his more human appearance even when he has his original appearance at the current moment. 

”Hello, Aziraphale,” he said like they haven’t seen each other for centuries. Aziraphale only looked mildly surprised to see him, the demon also saw a hint of happiness in the angel’s eyes, but he thought he just imagines that.

”Crawly,” Aziraphale greeted with a friendly nod.

”So. Giving the mortals a flaming sword. how did that work out for you?”

”The Almighty never said anything about it actually,” the angel said. His face has paled a little. Crawly frowned, ”the Host did on the other hand...” 

”They didn’t clip you for it though” he took a quick look at Aziraphale wings just to be sure. Still whole and messy as always. He made a mental note to do something about that later the feathery mess the angel called wings.

”No... no, they didn’t,” the angel sighed ”they ehhh... they demoted me.”

”Oh, that is not that terrible,” Crawly said and looked away from the angel’s wings ”you are demoted down to a Strongholds?”

”No... Principality” Aziraphale mumbled "hence why I am here... looking out for the humans"

”No” Crawly grimaced ”that can’t be right”.

”Apparently I can,” the angel said prudish, it was clear he did not like this subject ”now I have to follow orders from Gabriel.”

Crawly was glad Aziraphale didn’t ask why he knew the angel was a Cherubim. That would mean he has to avoid very awkward questions about who he used to be, and he was really not in the mood to have that conversation. 

”Seeing on the bright side. You are now spending more time with the humans than those wankers”, Crawly said emphatically. Aziraphale looked at him with a little sigh. He still looked sad down in the ground. The demon tried again;  
”besides; those Arch Angels are too much after you; you can always turn into a lion or a dragon to-”

”I can’t.”

”What?”

”I don’t have a celestial form,” Aziraphale said upset, he finally looked at him ”I am not like the other Cherubim. I don’t even look like them!”

”You have the extra eyes like them” Crawly tried(guilt flooded him again, he used to be one of them who pointed out Aziraphale was different), Aziraphale look clearly said ‘you are not helping’ so he instead said, ”have you ever tried to turn into an animal or your celestial form?”

”No...” the angel sighed, ”don’t have a spirit animal.”

”Bullocks. Even Demons have a spirit animal” Crawly circle in front of the angel, he spread out his arms and wings ”like me, my spirit animal is a snake. Turning into a big bloody snake is just part of me”.

”How did you know the snake was your spirit animal?”

”I just did” Crawled shrugged with wings and all. He didn't feel comfortable to tell Aziraphale the real reason why he is a snake. At least it was an animal he did have some familiarity with since he used to be seraphim. ”like they were just calling to me, in some way... like, calling inside of your Grace or core or something in that sense, you know?”

”Not sure,” Aziraphale admitted. Both of them were silent for a time while looking down at the sleeping family; the angel was keeping an eye on. Even the stars come out to greet the two immortal beings. The angel suddenly asked thoughtfully, ”does the first animal you see the count as a spirit animal?”

”Only if you see yourself in that animal. what did you first notice?”

”A white dove,” the angel said. Crawly burst out in laughter in real surprise that it was a white dove of all things the angel first saw and the absurd irony of all of it. Aziraphale gave him a tetchy look with his wings bristled at his laughter, ”don’t laugh!”

”Sorry, sorry, it just-” Crawly burst into laughter again at the angel’s upset look. The angry field mice look was back again. He tried to give Aziraphale wing an apology clap.

”You-” Aziraphale moved his wing away from Crawly’s hand to show he was still upset at him ” **bad** demon.”

”Of course I am. Demon and bad is something there goes hand in hand, angel” Crawly chuckled and began to circle Aziraphale in the hope he will relax a little again. Best not to test the angel’s patience too much in the case he reconsidered smiting him. Crawly decided to change the subject just in case, ”what are you doing here anyway?”

”Protecting the children of Eden,” Aziraphale said matter of fact. 

”They are still around?” he asked, surprised. The angel sighed, a new touchy subject he noticed.

”No, Adam and Eve died of old age centuries ago. I am here to make sure their lineage is protected.”

”No you had followed this family for decades now?”

”yes?” 

”What about Adam and Eve’s other kid’s family?” Crawly asked with a hand gesture toward the horizon like a still-living lineage would magically appear out there (they didn’t), and Aziraphale frowned deeply at his words with a mix of confusion and horror realization.   
Looks like he finally got how deep he was in this duty mess   
”not as easy anymore to follow them, eh?”

”As you said, I clearly bite more off than I can chew,” the angel muttered while fretting with his hands, clearly unprepared for what he was currently doing. 

”It’ll be easier to protect all humankind when you are in the area.”

”My duty is only to protect the direct stock of the humans of Eden.” 

”Yeah, good luck with that” Crawly snorted amused, the angel gave him one last look before flying closer to the family he currently was protecting. The demon decided to leave him be for a while and return to the village for the time being.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale was bathing in a river miles away from the humans' settlement. He has for a good while knowing that his extra eyes made most humans uncomfortable, so he was beginning to keep his distance from those he protected. Ever since he was located on Earth, he found new ways to make sure his wings stayed clean, like by bathing in freshwater,(Aziraphale once tried in saltwater and have regretted that decision ever since) but he couldn’t do much about the messiness of his feather after the bathing, but that was something he could live with. 

”What in Heaven’s name are you doing?” Aziraphale spread water everywhere in surprise when he heard Crawly standing behind him. The demon was equally surprised when he got a wing full of water onto him. 

”Oh! I am sorry about that. I didn’t think others would find me out here” Aziraphale apologized to the demon who looked like a wet cat. He couldn’t help but smile, amusing over how dramatic Crawly was over being wet. 

”No, you are not sssorry at all,” the demon sulked while he waved his hand over his clothing to dry instantly ”you look like a giant duck who forgot how to swim probably.”

”I am bathing! The humans do it to keep them clean” Aziraphale gave back while he tried to keep down how offended he was ”I do it to keep my wings clean.”

”Ah” Crawly looked thoughtful for a moment before he took off his moccasin and dipped his reptilian feet into the water but jerked then out quickly hissing ”the water is bloody freezing! How can you even swim in that ice water?!”

”Haven’t noticed it was cold” Aziraphale hummed and rinsed his feather like a giant bird. Water sprayed everywhere again. 

”It must be nice to be a living sun.”   
The tone of the demon’s voice was odd to him. He still didn’t know what that tone to those words meant. He decided to just shrug it off with a friendly shrug. Aziraphale decided that his wings were now clean and began walking to the shore.

”What are you doing here, Crawly?” he asked the demon while he found an old towel he dried himself with before putting on his rope again. It was incredibly tatted, and he really needed some new clothes. 

Crawly, like himself, were not bothered by his nudity. Their brains did not work as humans do. They did not feel any sexual urge by seeing skin or doing a sexy posture. All Natoque cannot reproduce like all other creatures on the different planets in the universe, and since they don’t breed; so their brain has no need to feel sexual urges to others.   
This is why Aziraphale didn’t care that Crawly saw him naked in the lake or dressing. There was a simple no need for the angel or demon to feel bashful or embarrasses in the presence of each other. 

”You know, just needed some time away from the humans,” Crawly shrugged while circling him. Aziraphale adjusted his robe with surprised hearing the demon has been near the humans ”some of the younger males began to flirt with me, can you believe that angel?” he chuckled.

Aziraphale gave his serpentine eyes a thorough look. If he remembered correctly, gold was a very rare color for humans to have. Beside, Crawly’s eyes were very nice looking.

”I can see the appeal,” he admitted. The demon sputtered gibberish by his words. He decided to ignore it and instead asked: ”they are not frightened by your wings or claws?”

”Oh, I remove those when I-”

”You what?!” Crawly jumped with flared wings in surprise over his shock ”h-how?” 

”Like this,” the demon took off the upper part of his robe and then turned his back to Aziraphale. He saw with morbid surprise how Crawly’s wings just folded themselves into itself until they were no bigger than the demon’s shoulderblades. Then the demon’s back just absorbed the wings into the skin until only blacking markings of the wings. Aziraphale could still see some of the wing bones under the skin.   
”clever little thing to do, eh?”

”Very imaginative,” Aziraphale muttered in wonder yet with a slight horror over the visible bones poking at the skin. He gently ran a hand over the Crawly’s shoulder blades(the demon shivered a little under his touch) and felt no feathers, only bones. He also notices the demon’s feet and ears have changed ”the humans most think you are one of them.”

”Eh, only as long they don’t stare into my eyes,” Crawly whispered. He looked over his shoulder to look into the Aziraphale’s eyes. Both of them stared at each other far longer than two enemies should do. None of them understood this connection they have to each other, but they did not question it either. 

”Yes, your eyes are very mesmerizing,” Aziraphale whispered too. His face was way too close to the demon’s, he just... liked to be close to another Natoque, even if they were the enemy. 

Both of them realize what they were doing was not right, quickly stepped away from each other, and Aziraphale promptly looked down in the ground while trying to shove these very confusing feelings down. They both stood in an awkward silence before Aziraphale decided to wonder.

”It could be a nifty little thing too, especially when it is my duty to stay near the Eden descendants” Aziraphale looked at the demon who gave him a side glance look ”can you teach me?”

”You want me, a demon. To teach you, an angel, one of my tricks?” Crawly was astonished by his question. Aziraphale have no answer to his question, so he decided not to say anything. The demon Realizing this and walked closer to him with a look like a cat eyeing the canary   
”what it in for me?”

”You want a trade?”

”Something like that,” Crawly said simple, ”what are you willing to trade with me for my little personal trick?”

”... I can give you a blessing in the form of luck?” Aziraphale tried.

”Nah, I am thinking about something on a smaller scale. Beside, blessing another Natoque is strictly forbidden” the demon waved his idea off. He looked thoughtful at him before saying seriously,”I want a free pass.” 

Aziraphale blinked, confused.   
‘Freepass, what in the world did that mean? ‘

”You know, you look away just once while I do one of my demonic schemes, and you will do nothing to stop me,” Crawly explained. 

”I can’t do that,” he gasped ”Heaven will not like that at all. They will notice!”

”That is my price, angel. A free pass for a transformation trick,” Crawly reached his hand toward him, a clear gesture to a handshake ”deal?” 

Aziraphale looked at the hand, then to Crawly’s face. The demon did not have a glint of ill-intent in his golden eyes.  
He has a calm yet eager look like he wanted Aziraphale to accept the deal but did not want to push him into something he was uncomfortable with. He looked thoughtful at the demon’s hand again before making up his mind.

”On one condition, your free pass will not involve torture or death,” he said gravely. There was some line he did not like to cross, even if it was for the greater good. He reached his hand out to a handshake but did not take Crawly’s ”deal?”

Crawly laughed, a joyfully surprised laugh. He took his hand rather dramatically with a pleased;  
”Deal!”

An odd tingling entered Aziraphale hands and run through his arm up to his shoulder and then his chest where his Grace was located. It was an ancient power there had entered him through Crawly’s skin. A force he recognized since he had that power inside of him too, this power he felt inside of him was strange and unfamiliar.   
And yet, he liked the feeling.  
He **really** liked it.  
Aziraphale looked up into Crawly’s eyes and saw he too had that strange look in his serpentine eyes. Both of them looked down at their still holding hands.   
Then Crawly tried to intertwine their fingers, making the strange connection they have between them stronger. 

Aziraphale panic.   
Quickly he took his hand back to himself.

”I...” Aziraphale stammered. He liked that feeling, and it scared him more than anything ”I think you should teach me your eh trick, right?” he ended lamely.

”Right... right... ehm right” Crawly looked apologetic at him with a hint of disappointment ”right, the deal...”   
He cleared his throat before beginning again by giving him a once-over ”you already look like a human, except for the eyes and wings. We just need them to disappear.”

”Will it hurt?”

”Nooo,” Crawly drawled before continued ”the first time for me was uncomfortable. Still, no way near painful,” he showed his nearly human-looking hands to him there suddenly turned back to their original form ”you just need to imagine your body to be something else. Telling it to turn”

”Like turning into a beast?”

”Some concept, yes.” 

”I told you... I never tried that”

”First time for anything. Let us try something easy” he pointed at his extra eyes on his cheeks ”humans only have two eyes. Tell your extra eyes to close and see through the two last eyes.”

Aziraphale frowned but did just that. It was not easy, and he was glad Crawly did not scold him for slow progress like the angels in Heaven did when he was taking too long to do something. 

”That’s it! You've got the hang of it,” Crawly said with a hint of pride in his voice again. Aziraphale opened his two last eyes and winced at the new feeling in them, and it was like someone has to poke him in the eyes, or he just now realized they were too big for his skull. The demon gave him a sympathetic look   
”I know; the first time is uncomfortable. You get used to it with time.”

”I hope so. This is a very unpleasant feeling. I understand why you don’t change your eye shape.”

”Not worth it if you ask me,” the demon shrugged ”you saw how I folded my wings into my body” Aziraphale nodded at the statement, ”think it’s like normal folding your wings, except a step further. Tell your feathers to turn into water or something like that. Having those under your skin it a terrible feeling. Try only keeping the muscles and bones.” 

”Sounds complicated” Aziraphale did what he was told anyway, he folded his wings close to his back and then concentrated on turning his feathers into water and rest of his wings to be part of the rest of his body. It took him a lot of tries and encouraged words from the demon ('how odd is that?' he thought) before he finally manages to put them away. Crawly took a satisfied look at his back. 

”Did an excellent job teaching you. No bones sticking out, and your wings marking is barely visible. You did good, Angel.”

”I do hope so, I am an angel after all” he smiled ”thank you-”

”Don’t,” the demon hissed as he has just insulted him,”say thanksss. You keep the end of your deal, and then we are done.” 

”I am still-”

”Don’t say it.”

”-Grateful-”

”Gah, you said it!”

”-For your help,” Aziraphale said unaffected. With some effort, he materialized his wings again. He hoped the uncomfortable would go away sooner rather than later,”I will return to the humans now. Goodbye Crawly and-”

”Yeah yeah, just go, you overgrown dove,” Crawly grumbled and refused to look him in the eyes for some reason. Aziraphale found it endearing and decided to leave the demon with some dignity left. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Seventy years later, after Crawly taught the angel to conceal his angelic form, the demon found herself in many small towns near the Black Sea.

Crawly, like all other Natoque(angels and demons alike), are sexless. They have no male or female productive organs. They were not created with those. Their faces and body type could be both in humans’ eyes. Then he/she/them pronouncement is more in case of what their name sounded most like or what they decide they saw themselves as.  
In Crawly’s case, his name sounded more like a male, hence why his pronouncement is ‘him/he, and yet he has no qualms in using female clothing or pronounces if needed.  
It was far easier to be welcomed inside the settlement of humans disguised as women.

She watched how the humans lived off by the freshwater lake in many different ways. She had a few close calls run-in with some other Angels(one of them were Uriel. Crawly remembered her since some of Raphael's cherubim underlings also took few others from her) who have found a specific interest in a guy called Noah and his family. As curious as Crawly was, she decided to befriend Noah’s(current) youngest son Shem (he thought Crawly was a strange woman who didn’t like to show her eyes for some reason) who was very eager to tell her what they were building and what God has in mind for them.   
What Crawly got out of the ‘friendship’ is that the family has been warned about a great flood there will come and sink every town near the river underwater, and it was their duty to build a boat big enough to house their entire family. Crawly frowned at this Flood thing, and since she knew the angels have something to do with this, she decided to find Aziraphale and maybe coax him into telling her what the Flood thing was all about. 

–.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**planet Earth**

**year 3004 bc**

**Mesopotamia**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It took her 20 years to find Aziraphale between the boat workers. It was almost ridiculous how easy it was to find the angel. Sure, he was wearing human clothing now, but he was the only fair-skinned person in the area, and his clothing was nearly as white as his cotton hair. 

She quickly came up behind the angel with a friendly ”Helloo Aziraphale.”  
  
”Crawly,” he greeted back. Aziraphale didn’t look overly surprised to see her. He didn't even look bothered by the pliantly female clothing.

”Look like you got the hang of looking human, not that hard for you since you already looked so much like them,” Crawly said. she looked around the surrounding humans while using her magic to tell them all to go back to stocking the big boat than to listen in on their conversation ”I have a feeling I already asked you why you don’t look like the other Cherubim?”

”Can’t recall you ever asked me that,” the angel said. He was still busy looking after the humans... 

”Mhm,” Crawly said. She decided to change the subject before it got too dangerous ”what’s all this about? build a big boat and fill it with a traveling zoo.”

The traveling zoo was not, in fact, a zoo. It did not have lions, zebra, or elephants. Noah did not think that far and was only told by ‘God’ to save his family from the Flood. Crawly knew for a fact that it was Uriel and Jophiel who told the male human this. The only animals Noah and his family took with him were domestic animals like goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, and camels. He gave no reason to stock his boat with dangerous animals like jackals, badgers, and bears. 

The two immortal beings watched how men herd a goat inside the boat with a tuff of grass. The goat did not want to get inside the big scary thing and needed far more grass to persuade it into the boat   
Aziraphale lowered his voice like he was afraid the humans around them heard him. Crawly found it endearing since the humans lost from a long time ago the ability to understand the speech of the Natoque and the Gods.

”From what I hear, The Black sea is going to flood most of this valley,” the angel told her. Crawly nodded her head like she hasn’t heard that part ever before, ”wiping out the human race in the area. big storm”  
the last part made the demon stop her ‘totally-not-heard-this-before’ nodding and looked shocked at the angel

”All of them?” 

”Just the locals...” Aziraphale muttered like that made it all better ”and it’s not like all of the locals are going to drown,” the angel admitted. He pointed at Sham’s family, who began to look worrying at the dark sky ”Noah, up there, his family, and his sons, their wives, they’re all going to be fine.”

”But, your lot are drowning everybody else?” Aziraphale nods with a restrained look. It was quite visible he didn’t like the idea either but didn’t dare to go against the other angels, (Crawly have a feeling that the other angels have plucked the poor fellow by how uncomfortable he looked) the demon looked at some laughing kids who pointed at Noah and his family for preparing a big boat for reasons they didn't know. Oh, she wished those tykes knew what was going to happen. Turning away from the children, she looked appalled at the angel,   
”not the kids? You can’t kill kids. Aren’t you suppose to save all of Eden's decedent?”

”I am! Noah and-”

”Only Noah is decent? You’re joking, right,” the guilty lip-biting Aziraphale did, said it all. ”well, that’s more the kind of thing you’d expect my lot to do. letting all getting killed in a big flood.” 

”What is your lot doing anyway in all of this?” she nearly laughed at the change of subject. Aziraphale was clearly uncomfortable. Crawly was about to answer when Aziraphale muttered in an afterthought ”well, besides messing things up on Anuvina.”

”The Nephilim scandal was millions of years ago, and Satan does not make more of those. The decedent of those are called Ellefolk"

”Heard Uriel and some of the other angels tell they are going to use this Flood to drown some of these Nephilims. They really don’t like them” Aziraphale said matter of fact. Crawly gave him a surprised frown. The angel continued, ”They want all of them gone from Earth. Those on Anuvina is protected. I don’t think the Host like the idea that we can procreate with other species and want them gone for good” he again looked uncomfortable, Crawly was right there behind him. She didn’t like that order. At all, “seen any elves around here?”

”Ah.... only a few of the deamons- not us, the other ones and I have seen some few Jinns around too. They are not related to the Nephilim, by the way. I heard from other demons that Nephilim is created by adding magic or something like that into a women's body. No idea how that works” she said. Aziraphale only nodded to tell he was listening.   
”All of them are seen as a disgrace to Santan’s plan” the angel gave her a confused look, and she explained, ”Nephilim is not Natoque enough for the big Boss, not strong enough in magic and have a life span. even heard Ligur say they are too easy to kill too.”

”Dreadful” Aziraphale shivered, Crawly was pretty sure if his wings were out, they would ruffle up. he added, ”elves have a limited lifespan, but they have an excellent hand around magic” Crawly frowned at him ”they are still powerful since they can use magic. Not as powerful as ours but-”

”I get it. Still not good enough, since that project stopped for at least a million years ago. A lot of them were killed under the Rebellion for what I heard, and I am not sure how many of them survived the trip to Heaven.”

“Were you part of it? The Nephilim project?”

“Fuck, no! I would rather jump in a sulfur lake than to sire a bunch of kids who gets worse treatment than our ancestors!”

“Ah, that is go-wait? How did you know about our history?” Aziraphale gave her a hard look. Crawly flinched under it.

‘shit shit **shit!** ‘

“I... eh...” she was not ready to tell him the truth of who he really is. She was not sure she will ever be “G-Satan forced me to see.”

“... Oh...” Aziraphale said. He looked her over with a little frown, “you take it quite well for that.”

“Well... you know... got eh, got tired of staying insane, and then I was told to go to the Garden of Eden to stir up some trouble.”

Aziraphale nodded in understanding and did not ask more into it. Crawly hold back a sigh of relief, Standing taller up again, she said out of the corner of her eye. She saw a snow-white horse run away from some other tied down horses. She quickly yelled while pointing,  
” _Oi, Sham! that unicorn’s going to make a run for it!_ ”

” A Unicorn? Here?” Aziraphale looked surprised around for the runaway Unicorn. Crawly pointed out the horned horse for him in the busy work of the giant boat. Aziraphale frowned at the sight of the unicorn.   
Noah’s son Sham looked surprised at Crawly’s yelling and then at the runaway unicorn. The man yelled to some other humans to help him to catch the unicorn, but the unicorn was far faster than a bunch of humans. They stopped the hunt for the unicorn in disappointment and returned to stock up the boat. 

” _Well, you’ve still got one of them, can always find yourself some later!_ ” Crawly shouted optimistic to Sham, who just gave her a ‘what-can-you-do?’ shrug. 

”They are not going to keep those either,” Aziraphale said low and looked at the last unicorn Noah and family got up in the Ark ”I have to report them to the Host. they don’t belong on this planet and need to be re-located back to Anuvina.”

”Well, neither do we and yet-” Crawly drawled near a whisper like it was a secret ”here we are”   
Aziraphale gave her an odd look like he was not sure what to say about that information and just decided to keep his mouth shut about that subject.   
Not surprising to the demon, he changed the subject again.

”Your hair is braided. I didn’t know you could braid.”

”You don’t like it?” Crawly asked innocently "kids in the town likes to do it, maybe I could-no wait"  
Crawly decided to shut up and Aziraphale looked down in the ground with a guilty face again. The demon decided to ask more questions he was surely going to regret later while they were on the subject;  
”When will the Flood come, Angel?”

Aziraphale bit his lips again. Again, it was clear for the demon the angel wanted to tell her, but he was afraid to do so. The both of them looked up with thunder was heard, and the first rain began, and Aziraphale made his choice by saying in a guilt-ripping whisper;  
”Today...”

that didn’t give her much time to do what she wanted to do.  
”Well, better get to it then.” 

”Crawly! What are you-” Aziraphale began, but he was interrupted when said demon summon her wings back and spread them out. The humans around them began screaming is shock and fright when Crawly shoots up into the air. The rain began to turn harsher by each minute.

”I am going to cash in on my free pass, Angel!” she shouted at the still shocked Aziraphale on the ground, ”do your duty by staying with the descendant and look the other way!”  
and with those words, she flew as fast at she could to save as many young humans she could before the water raised too much. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale kept his part of the deal. He looked the other way while Crawly did whatever he was going to do. The water around the Black Sea has already raised dramatically high, and soon the whole valley was covered in water.   
Noah and his family were safe inside the Ark they were told to build, and the former Guardian of the Eastern gate stood on the deck in the stormy weather keeping an eye(or many eyes in his case) out for trouble to the Ark and its passenger.   
He knew Uriel and Jophiel were on the boat too, but none of the angels interacted with each other. The two other angels didn't bother to even try to be friendly with the humans on the boat.  
Aziraphale stood as far away from the two other angels as he could and he looked over the water.  
He felt cold and terrible when he saw bodies of humans and animals alike in the muddy water, but he was too scared of Micheal’s or the two other Cherub's wrath to intervene with the still alive humans out there. 

Part of them was glad that Crawly has a soft spot toward the humans as he has.   
He just hopes the demon did not get in trouble in Hell for this. 

Aziraphale ruffled his feathers in his growing anxiety and hoped- **begged** that Crawly manage to save some humans he was not allowed to do. 

-  
A month later, Aziraphale and Noah walked together on the Ark and Aziraphale saw a lonely white dove. Quickly but gently, he took the dove up in his hand and ask the dove to find land and his friend. Noah looked hopeful after the white dove together with the concerned angel

-  
Noah called for Aziraphale when the white dove came back with branches in its beak. It began to build a nest on the ark. Noah saw it as a good sign for God herself. Aziraphale knew it was just normal animal behavior and he felt dread squishing his heart for whatever has happened to poor Crawly.

-  
Nearly two months later, the Ark hit land, and its passengers could finally feel solid ground under their feet again. On the top deck, an angel kept an eye on them to see they were all healthy before flying off without any seeing him go. Not even bother to see if the two other angels wanted to talk to him about reports or something in that manner.  
Aziraphale wanted- **needed** to find Crawly and see what has happened to him in the last two months. 

It took him nearly a week before he found the demon floating in the water. He has closed eyes and didn’t move.

”Crawly!” Aziraphale cried and nose-dived down to the demon and grabs the demon without getting his wings wet(he would not be able to fly with them soaked) and with a lot of fuss, he manages to get the demon up in his arms in bridal style and fly off to the solid ground. While flying, he noted that Crawly was freezing and was covered in scratch marks. None of them looked fatal.

It took him hours to reach solid ground, and he has flown nonstop since he left the Ark and was pretty much running on fumes at the moment. The landing on the beach was far from graceful, and both of them landed hard on the beach. After Aziraphale got some of his strength back, he quickly yet gently tried to shake the demon awake.

”Crawly? Crawly! Please. Open your eyes.” 

No response. The angel’s anxiety shoot through the sky itself. Quickly he lay his hand on the demon’s chest and felt he still have a life source. Faint, but still there.

'Still alive. good.'

But he has no idea what was wrong with him. This was not normal Natoque behavior.  
Even though he was not an angel anymore, and he didn’t know this was a common demon behavior either.

Then, like someone has hit him hard with a metaphorical bat, he remembered;  
In Eden. Inside the cave. Crawly has sought out Warmth. 

_“It must be nice to be a living sun.”_

”Oh my GOD, you’re cold-blooded!”   
Without hesitating, he got the demon up in his lap and folded his wings around Crawly to keep his internal warm around the demon. The demon still didn’t move, but he was also still freezing. The only thing Aziraphale could do at the moment is to gain his own strength and wait.

-

It took a day and a night before Crawly began to stir. Aziraphale quickly folded his wings behind his back if Crawly suddenly turned hostile in confusion. Crawly open his serpentine eyes and looked confused around until his gaze landed on the angel, then his frown turned more confused.

”Aziraphale? What are you doing here?” Crawly slurred. Aziraphale slowly helped him up from the ground and was very careful not touching the wings. 

”I found you out in the water, ice-cold and near death,” Aziraphale told upset. The mere idea that Crawly could have died didn’t sit well with him at all   
”what in the world were you doing out there?”

”Used all my energy saving humans from drowning and well...” the demon shrugged with his wings but winced a little. They must have been aching ”no land around me when I needed it”

”You should be glad that we are very resilient, Crawly. If you have been a human-”

”Stop the lecture, Angel. 'm fine” Aziraphale didn’t feel like he has told the demon how lucky he was that he found him, but the demon was quick to change the subject ”how’s Noah and his family?”

”They are all safe,” he said curt and quickly returned to look Crawly over. He pointed at his scratch marks, ”who did that to you?”

”Some humans thought I was going to kill them when I fished them out of the water,” Crawly said dismissively. He huffed while running a hand over the scratch marks ”this is the thanks I get.”

”Do you want me to heal them?” Aziraphale hoped he would say yes.

”No, will be a good cover-up” Crawly waved him off, he must have seen his downfall look, and he quickly looked away ”and ahh... for ehhh... you know what I am trying to say. You didn’t have to fish me out of the water.”

”It was the right thing to do,” Aziraphale said with a gentle smile. Crawly gave a little one back, and he has a hint of hope in his eyes. The angel wanted to stay a little longer to make sure Crawly was in better health, but he knew the demon did not want to be fussed over, and he still has his duty to the Heaven ”I better be going. The Host wants reports about this” 

With a snap of his fingers, a portal back to Quatos opened up beside him. Before walking through, he gave one last look at the demon who smiled at him.

”Till next time then,” Crawly said hopefully.

”Till next time,” Aziraphale promised before leaving Earth for the time being

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there have been a time where the black sea was smaller than it is today. I don't know how that happened but I decided to use it to the famous flood of the bible. 
> 
> to clear some few things up about the Natoque's pegging rank.  
> \- Seraphim. Cherubim and Archangel are angel races. Seraphim are seen as the big boys or Heaven.  
> \- Lordships, Authorities and Powers are the ranks of the Seraphim.  
> \- Dominions, Thrones, and Strongholds are the rank of the Cherubim.  
> \- Rulers, Principalities, and Virtues are the rank of the Archangels  
> \- Arch (Angels) is the supervisor of the different apartments. Arch are handpicked by God.  
> \- Heaven apartments are Healer, Death, Messenger, Avenging. Crusader. Scripture and Guardian.
> 
> example: Raphael(aka Crowley before falling) was a Power Seraphim and were the Arch of the Healer angels. 
> 
> now let us take Hell.  
> \- the angel races(Seraphim, Cherubim, and Archangel) are still the same in Hell but the rank of the races has been removed.  
> \- 'Satan' is the big boss. there exist five of them. Asbeel, Belkira, Lucifer, Mashhit, and Samael.  
> Samael rules over the other Satan's.  
> \- King, Prince, Duke, Marquis, Knight, and Pawn are the rank of Heal. unlike Heaven's rank; demons can fight or show devoted loyalty for a better rank. the lower rank a demon is, the higher risk is there they are getting beaten by other demons.  
> \- Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Pride, Guilt, Wrath, Sloth, Envy. Fear, Heresy is the apartment of Hell. 
> 
> I will use Crowley as an example again; under this chapter, Crowley has a rank of a Pawn and 'work' in the Heresy apartment. 
> 
> since he tempted Adam and Eve to defy the angels and Heaven(by this; also God) by refusing to walk under their rules any longer. if this fanfic followed canon; I would have to sit him in the Guilt apartment since when I read what the Original sin is; it is always saying something about Guilt


	12. The duty of an angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> looooong chapter this time.

Crawly sat for himself, looking over the new farmland Noah’s family have build up right after the flood. It still surprised the demon how fast humans could bounce back to a nearly healthy life after a disaster. He did from time to time, find Sham(who was a lot older at this point) and talk to him for a bit. The elderly man was aware Crawly was not human(he didn't know he was a demon, just not human), but he has promised the demon not to tell the rest of his family about him.

“ _Although..._ ” Sham said while working(miraculous faster lately) on the field with Crawly walking beside him, “ _there is something there have been lurking lately around us._ ”

“ _Really?_ ” Crawly said, surprised, “ _do they look like me?_ ”

“ _No, not a human. It looks more like a giant demonic horse._ ” 

“ _Ah, I will take care of that thing. No need to scare your family just yet._ ” 

“ _You are a lifesaver, my friend,_ ” Sham said with a smile, “it is a shame you still refuse to tell me your name.”

Crawly looked away.  
“ _I find no need to speak it. don't worry about it_ ” before the elderly human could say anything, Crawly quickly said, “ _I’m gonna find that horse of yours and scare it away._ ”

“ _Be careful, friend,_ ” Sham said. The demon waved carefree at him while sauntering away. He knew if Noah’s son knew he too was a demon... well, it would not be pleasant for anyone. The human knew he was a snake and good to healing, but he did not know his name or his story.   
Best that way. 

Crawly smelled the air to see who the other immortal were.   
‘Sulfur. Another demon then. Great...’

Looking over his shoulders to make sure nobody on the grape farm was looking at his direction, he then turned back to his true form and fly to the place he could smell the other demon.   
Just behind a hill, he saw something there looked like a purebred black horse with red eyes. 

‘Differently, another demon. Someone who used to be a Cherubim by the looks of their beast form.’

Like all other demons, Crawly did not trust the other and landed a few feet away from the other who huffed in surprise to see him.

“Crawly,” the demon horse said with a deep voice. It turned back to a dark-skinned demon with four red wings and eyes “what are you doing here?”

“Doing my job, Beleth,” Crawly said, “tempted the old geezer Noah to drink himself half to death.”

Not true. Noah did that on his own. Seeing so much death after the flood, Noah began drinking to calm his frayed nerves. Unfortunately, the old bastard was an angry drunk, and he has already harmed his youngest son Ham more than one way.   
probably also why Crawly still hangs around the farm. to make sure no harm came to the grown children.

“You are doing our... Lord proud”  
Crawly raised an eyebrow at the blatant hesitation. Something was up. He decided to play dumb to see this was going.

“Yep, doing our savior proud. Might get a recommendation for this”

“You might,” Beleth said. He walked right up in Crawly’s personal space. He hated it when the other demons did that “I have noticed something about you, Crawly. You are weak and yet; Satan likes to have you around.”

“Ngk... noticed,” Crawly grumbled. He has a feeling of Satan likes to have him around due to the fact he could See like him.  
It didn’t mean Crawly liked to be near the big boss himself. 

“Why is that?” Beleth asked. He began to walk around the snake demon, probably looking for an answer. He knew that spark in his eyes far too well. It didn’t put him at ease though, “what makes such a low-ranking demon like you so special?”

“Nothing” Crawly lied through gritted teeth. He needs to be careful. Beleth was a King of Hell, after all. 

“I don’t believe you.”

“We are demons. we don’t normally trust each other”

“We were angel once too,” Beleth said with a hint of hope in his eyes. “we might have a chance to get back to that”

“How so?” Crawly looked away. He was not so keen on going back to Heaven anymore ever since they chopped off one set of his wings and left him for death

“Shifting our loyalty to someone else,” Beleth said like he were afraid someone else could hear them “a new Satan. A better one.”

“And who will that be? Asbeel?” Crawly half-joked. Asbeel was maybe an idiot, but he was ruthless. He butted heads with the other high ranking demons a lot of the time. 

“No. ever heard about Lucifer?”  
Crawly barely hold back a grimace. Of course, he has heard about Lucifer. He was a high ranking Natoque in both Heaven and Hell. He didn’t mind this other once Seraphim.  
His most significant flaws are that he was (and still is) a very proud Natoque. Having Lucifer as the boss of Hell might not be as bad as having Samael on the throne.

“Cause I have. He is one of the highest commands in Hell.” Crawly said like it was no big deal. inside his mind, he was screaming that he needed to get away from this conversation.

“And a seeker of the truth. Many of us want to know the truth, the real one,” Beleth urged. Crawly already knew that Samael used his knowledge of the truth to his advantage and told a bunch of half-truths to the Fallen to gain more power. He barely heard when the other demon said: “Lucifer told me that those who knew the truth have a certain glint in their eyes.”

“Mgh”

“I have only seen two with that with Samael and... you” personal space were invaded again to Crawly’s dismay “you can see the truth. Tell me, Serpent; what is the truth?”

“Last time I tried that, I regretted it with my life,” Crawly said harsh, he didn’t care at the moment if he offended the other demon. His days before his Fall was a very touchy subject “if you want the truth, you have to find it yourself, I cannot help you there.”

“Hm, pity,” the other demon shrugged and(finally) stepped away from him “Lucifer likes to talk to you one of these days. We hope you will change your loyalty to our cause” he walked up beside him with a spark in his eyes still there “this conversation is just between the two of us. Think about my offer for a better future for the demons.”

“Will do,” Crawly mumbled. The other demon smiled before blitzed to who knows were. He let out a deep sigh before saying, “well, shit.”

Crawly has already decided not to go and talk to Lucifer. A new rebellion in Hell did not sound like a good idea to him or anyone who was caught doing so. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Planet Earth.**

**year 2197 bc**

**Tower of Babel**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The angel Aziraphale was walking outside the city named Babylon. He was a bit angry at himself for being this blindsided, and having Heaven breathing down his neck did not help on the matter.   
Walking a bit further away, he suddenly saw a particular demon sitting in lone watchtower all by himself.   
Aziraphale couldn't help but smile when seeing the demon, he materialized his wings(we were beginning to getting used to the feeling) and flew up to the demon.

“Oh, Crawly. Fancy meeting you here,” the angel said when he was close enough. He saw Crawly looked a bit tense. He must have, by accident, spooked him.

“Aziraphale,” Crawly greeted carefree back and patted the floor beside him. Aziraphale took that as an invitation. He landed on the tower and gracefully sat down beside the demon. Crawly gave him a quick look-over before saying, “still following the decedent I see.”

“Not anymore...” Aziraphale said and looked sadden down as his own hands in his lap “the one I have followed here died childless, and now I don’t know who is a decadence anymore. Might as well follow your suggestion and just protect all the humans in the area” he looked at Crawly, who gave him a quick pitied look before drinking something. Aziraphale forgot his predicament for a moment and stared at the demon; he has never seen a Natoque drink or eats before. He pointed at the jug Crawly was holding, “what in the world is that?”

“This?” Crawly shook the jug he was holding. It sounded half empty “it is called vine. Made out of grapes and can make you drunk.”

“Drunk? Not like in drowning, I presume.”

“Nah, more like,” his hand made some odd gesture around his head. Like he tried to point at his ear but forgot where the ear was located, “head gets all scrambled and messy.”

“Sounds dreadful.” 

“Can’t claim that before trying” 

“Are you temping me, demon?” Aziraphale smiled smugly at the demon.

“Nooo. If you don’t want, ’m not going to force you to anything” Crawly drawled, “it is your choice after all.”

Aziraphale looked at the jug, curious. He looked at Crawly (he too looked curious but not at the jug) before looking at the jug again. Gently he took the jug(very careful not to touch the demon) from Crawly and held it up to his lips for a little moment in hesitating.

Angels were not supposed to do human stuff. They should just follow orders and that it.   
But Aziraphale has already broken few rules of Heaven. What was a few more on the list going to do?  
Still careful with that kind of thinking, he took a small sip from the jug and took his time to taste this thing, Crawly called wine. 

“Hmm, not bad. The first time I have ever tasted anything the humans have made,” he could barely contain a wriggle over how rebellion he was. The demon tipped his head a little with an amused glint in his beautiful eyes. The angel quickly took another sip of the wine by that thought. There were some lines there was best not to cross.  
“Crawly, do you think we have free will?” 

Crawly looked taken aback by his question. Aziraphale couldn’t blame him. It was a very sudden thought turned to a problem. The demon hand gestured to get the jug back, and he took a large gulp of it before saying;  
“No, only humans are allowed to have that. Us-” he pointed between the two of them “are not. If our bosses tell us to jump. We don’t ask how high, and we just do it” 

“You being asked to jump?” Aziraphale asked curiously. Crawly grimace painfully

“More fell...” 

“You were asked to- why did you do it?!” Aziraphale gasped. He almost hit Crawly with his wings in his shock. The demon just pushed them carefully away from him. 

“Because I wanted my head straight and She-” he pointed upwards with his clawed finger. Like humans do when they talked about God, “told me to.”   
Aziraphale could barely contain a pained expression. He has seen first hand what the Sight did to Natoque. His poor wings still ache by the thought of it.   
“What about you, how did you get the Sight” Crawly asked and gave the jug back to Aziraphale. 

“Never got it, I am born with it” Aziraphale took another little sip from the jug before giving it back.

“Lucky you,” Crawly drawled. He had a very far-away look in his serpentine eyes, “can I asked you something, Angel?”

“Of course, anything.”

“if you hurt someone else,” he asked with pain clearly in his voice, “what will you do?”  
Aziraphale quickly looked him over. It didn’t look like he has gotten himself new wounds. He looked at the city of Babylon while thinking carefully at what the demon asked him. 

“I would ask for forgiveness. Tell my reason to why I hurt them”

“Even if those reasons are selfish?” Crawly urged, “do you even think the one you hurt would accept your forgiveness?”

“not sure. But it is the thought there counts. They don’t know you are sorry for your actions and feel guilty about them.”

Crawly looked away from him for some reason.   
“Asking for a friend,” he mutters before adding “human friend.”

“Ah, that explains a lot of things. humans are very complicated.”

“hm” 

“You can tell your friend that they should go to the person they hurt and tell them why they did what they did. You maybe see it as a selfish reason. But humans can surprise you.”

“Mh”

Both of them sat in comfortable silence for a while and watched the sunset over the city. Aziraphale looked down at the now empty jug with dread filling his immortal heart. 

“...I don’t think I can ask for forgiveness for what I am ordered to do...” he said quietly to Crawly. It was terrible how comfortable he was around the demon. Crawly looked curious at him, and he urgently told before he lost the courage   
“Y-you see; I am told to... kill a fallen-” Crawly moved uncomfortably “not you, but it used to be someone I knew... someone I once cared for”

“Do you remember their name? The angel name?” Crawly asked. He still looked very uncomfortable and tense. 

“I do, but I am not allowed to say it out loud anymore. out of sight and out of mind, as Gabriel would say” Aziraphale explained what Micheal has told him more than once “I am told to take his name.”

Aziraphale got whacked in the head by Crawly’s wings when he flared them in shock.   
“Sorry! you are told... to erase another angel.” 

“Demon”

“Fallen **angel** ” Crawly gave him an urging look. “Do you have any idea what they are telling you to do? You are just not going to kill this other guy. You are going to take his whole identity. And I mean his once angelic name and probably also his wing colors, but I am not sure about that.” 

“Everything?!” 

“Yes. You are leaving an empty husk behind. No name, no nothing” he shivered and folded his back wings closer to his back. His snake eyes were big in terror, “Saw Micheal do it once.”

“Micheal?!” 

“The Micheal you know, used to be a Archangel and old Micheal was the Seraphim” Crawly said grimly, “new Micheal erased him before the rebellion even began, with what I heard” the demon gave him a very piercing look “you sure you want to do that? You will lose everything you are now and be someone else.”

Aziraphale quickly got up on his feet and began pacing around the small watchtower. 

‘I am going to lose myself if I do this... I will not be me anymore... I don’t want to do this! ‘

His wings flared in anger, in fright, and in a panic, he could not get himself out of. His knee landed hard on the ground. He barely notices it. He barely notices the demon’s startled cry.   
Aziraphale was not aware of this at the current moment that he had a panic attack. The thought of being forced to lose himself was too much for the already stressed angel.

‘It’s so unfair! Why are they doing this to me? I don’t want to do this; I don’t... I don’t...please don’t make me do it... please, please. Please, please.’

He stopped himself when he remembered what Crawly said not so long ago.  
 _“Natoque does not have free will. They follow orders no matter what. “_

‘But I really do have a choice here, do I...?’

the angel slowly lifted his head in this grim realization.   
He has no choice.   
He has to kill Raphael and take his place.  
Nobody cared what Aziraphale thinks.  
He was just another drone in a giant beehive. 

Aziraphale slowly came up on his feet and first now realized that Crawly was beside him in his panic in what was going on. The angel came slowly on his feet, feeling numb. The demon slowly followed him, still looking concerned at him.  
He looked at the demon with tears in his eyes.

“Hey Angel, what is going on? Just tell me so we can figure this out. Come on, talk to me, what-”  
without thinking, Aziraphale hugged Crawly.   
The demon tensed up in utter confusion but slowly relaxed in his embrace. Unsure and awkwardly, he hugged him slowly back. The angel was burring his tear-streaming face into Crawly’s neck.

‘God. I wish you are an angel while I still was in training. It would be so easy to feel wanted and forget anyone's scornful eyes on me. I wish you never fall and we could be friends without hiding it’ 

“As you said, we don’t have free will. I have to kill Raphael even if I like it or not,” he said instead.   
He felt Crawly tense up. Apparently, he didn’t know the angel of healing has fallen. 

“R-Rap-Raphael?” Crawly gasped. 

“Yes”   
Crawly began to shake too. Aziraphale hold him closer, 

“I.... I am so sorry, angel,” Crawly cried. Refusing to let him go, “I am sorry for everything. Please forgive me.”

Aziraphale made them both sit down on the floor again. He not sure why the demon acted like this. Still, he was not even sure why he was so against doing his duty. He decided it was just a thing odd Natoques like them did. 

“Shh, it is not your fault, Crawly,” he hushed gently to the demon. He stroke his shoulder feathers in the hope to calm the demon down. He could feel on himself he needed this too “it is not your fault I have to do this”

Aziraphale sat with Crawly in his embrace throughout the whole night. The poor demon has begged for forgiveness through most of it, and it got so bad that Aziraphale found it more humane to put him under sleep. Crawly never saw it coming.  
The demon soon slept in Aziraphale's arms. The angel felt slight burn marks on his skin were Crawly's tears dropped when they have clung to each other. Aziraphale hoped his own tears hasn't hit the demon's skin directly. Aziraphale looked sorrowful at the demon. He knew it would be best to leave him and just do his duty as fast as possible. 

He was not sure he would be able to look Crawly in the eyes when he woke up either.   
Only hesitating for a little moment, Aziraphale kissed Crawly’s forehead. 

An angel’s kiss was a life-long blessing. Angels only did these types of blessings by direct orders from Her since they were incredibly powerful in their own way. He blessed the demon because he felt Crawly deserved this whatever he has been through before falling. 

“Goodbye, my dear,” he whispered to the demon, “may you dream of the things you like best in this world.”

With those words, Aziraphale flew off, leaving the demon behind who were unknowing to the Angel; was dreaming about him. 

-

“Aziraphale” Tiferet; Raphael’s old boss greeted Aziraphale when he was told(rather rudely) by Gabriel to find the high ranking Seraphim at the top of the World Tree. She was quite beautiful, with her darker to blue wings and darker skin. Aziraphale was reminded of a sunset every time he looked at her, “Gabriel told me you have trouble finding the former Raphael.”

“Yes, he is hiding better than I thought,” Aziraphale said hollowly. He did everything in his power to hold his feelings back. He was not sure if this was what the other Natoque felt all the time, but it hurt when he did it to himself to be able to do his duty. 

Tiferet leads him over to the trunk of the World tree was a lot of weapons were embedded. Aziraphale knew these weapons used to belongs to the Fallens. The tree itself was slowly taking the weapons back to its core where they were initially created. One of the weapons, a golden staff with wings enclosed by two snakes, entwine the rod of the staff itself were still visible in the bark. Tiferet easily took the staff out of the tree bark.

“Take this,” she gave the staff to Aziraphale. When touching the staff, he felt a mighty power he knew once belonged to the former Healer “the Staff of healing were a gift to Raphael from the Almighty. it is linked to Raphael’s magic and will find him if ordered” Tiferet pointed at the eyes of the staff snake which were glowing in an emerald glow ”it will not fully obey you before you take Raphael’s soul”

”Is Raphael still able to hold this staff? Be a high disadvantage to be if he is,” Aziraphale asked. He felt a bit awkward holding the staff. He was used to holding swords, not staves. 

”Only the Host can hold holy objects,” Tiferet stated simply.

”I see,” Aziraphale said sullenly. He decided not to linger, even if he would have done anything to stay as himself just a bit longer, but he was not in the mood to punish for his own hesitation to a simple task ”I will be off then.”

”I look forward to seeing you again; new Raphael,” Tiferet called after him while he opened a portal back to Earth. Aziraphale closed his eyes to control his feelings better. 

‘follow orders. Do not feel, do not ask questions. Just do what you are told.’

He quickly walked through the portal without looking back.   
The portal he opened to Earth has to lead him to a forest in early Fall. A lot of browns, reddish, and yellow colors were everywhere around him. He would have enjoyed these colors; if not, they reminded him so much about the former Healer angel. 

”Alright then, remember old boy. A commanding voice,” Aziraphale mutters to himself. He shook his wings in discomfort before setting the staff vertical in the ground. He let go of it, and it stood on its own ”ahem. Staff of healing. Find Raphael” 

The staff snake came to life and began slighter away from the staff at speed no normal snake could do. The magic inside the staff made them able to search the sky to the deepest ocean, and no matter was in the universe. They will find Raphael no matter what. 

Aziraphale took the last part of the staff sans without the snakes into his hand and held it awkwardly.

”Now I just have to wait,” he sighed and decided to walk back to human society in the hope their daily life could calm his nerves. 

-

Aziraphale spent around 20 years on Earth. He was quite bored and did wish he would find Crawly again so they could talk about everything and nothing like they always did. Unfortunately, the angel knew better than to wish the demon to stay in his company. The feelings he has developed towards the demon were not healthy in any way or form. It would be best to stay away from Crawly. 

‘Besides, I did give him a life-long blessing, so he should be fine.’  
Aziraphale sighed sadly at the table he sat at. Being the odd angel of Heaven was hard.   
A human woman came over to him and gave him a mug he had asked for. 

” _Thank you,_ ” he said, overly friendly in old Norse to the women. The woman smiled bashfully back to him before walking back to her job. Aziraphale knew a lot of humans found him interesting due to his fair skin and hair further to the south. That is the reason he decided to stay in the North while waiting; a lot of the humans here also have white skin, so he didn’t stand as much out anymore. The biting cold didn't bother him either, he would be quite comfortable in the winter of the North. If not he were in such discomfort in what he was doing on his mission.  
He took a sip of his mug and jerked in surprise when he realized that was not wine. The angel remembered it was called mead and was made of fermented milk and honey.   
He retook a little sip of it. Still not sure he liked mead or not. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the staff snake slither over to him. 

”Oh, you are back,” he said and quickly scoped the snake up in his hand before anyone saw it. The snake was empty of magic, and it returned back to the resting staff beside him. Aziraphale looked a little longer at the staff before sighing, ”not on Earth then.”

-

Another 20 years passed since he once again has sent the staff snake out to find Raphael but this time it were on Anuvina. It gave him quite a spook when it landed on his head while preening his smaller feathers in a temporary post in the form of an empty house.

”There you are,” he smiled and took the snake out of his curly hair. It was chock-full of similar magic.  
”You found him,” he stated solemnly to the snake. The snake who was only an object made ‘alive’ by the ancient magic of the Gods didn’t answer him and just gave him the last known location of its former owner. Aziraphale winched a little at the instant information stuffed into his brain but quickly got a hold on himself ”Raphael is on Flamtas...”

He sighed deeply and let the snake return to its place on the staff while he had a smaller panic attack once again. He was not ready to face Raphael, let alone killing him.  
Aziraphale knew he should be angry at the Seraphim for hurting him in the past, but he has been over that incident for a long time now. He has no lingering feelings for the former Healer angel anymore either. He really didn’t care what has happened to him.

He only cared for what Crawly would do when he saw Aziraphale again after all of this was done.

Aziraphale winched at that thought and clenched his hands over his chest. His feelings were beginning to get out of hand.

The angel sighed and decided just to get this over before he got a new panic attack. He took the staff in his hand and he hides his true form under his skin. Even though Anuvina was the home of Dragons and Elves, Natoque was not something there were used to seeing. It was best to stay hidden as a human or as a Humanlin as they were called on that planet if Aziraphale remembered right.  
Making sure nobody was around his temporary hut, he decided to first go back to Heaven to make himself ready to battle before going to Anuvina and hunt down Raphael with the help of the two staff snakes again..  
He refuses to show any emotions anymore. They will not help him in his quest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ever since Aziraphale told Crawly, he was ordered to erase Raphael (aka HIM), Crawly has refused to leave Hell in the hope he could avoid that gruesome fate.  
But of course, hiding in Hell didn’t help at all when he realized that Aziraphale got help from his old staff.  
  
He saw one of his old staff’s snake in Hell, and right away, he tried to catch it. He was leaving a bunch of mess behind in his attempt to catch his old snake. He did manage to capture it in the Sloth department of Hell, but that little(literally) snake bit him and took some of his essences before it disappeared in thin air to report back to its new owner, while he was swearing up a storm over the bite wound.

Crawly didn’t know he should curse up to Heaven itself or scream in an absolute panic over the angel now have the tool to find him.  
He ended up doing both and scaring some of the lesser demons in the process.

-

Crawly tried to stay in Hell for two more weeks. He knew Aziraphale was not able to come down here without being killed in the process. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was just not on his side lately.  
His boss, Beelzebub, on of the princes of Hell, has grown tired of his lack of work outside of Hell and literately kicked him through a portal to the outside world where he face-planted the ground. 

Out in the open where Aziraphale better could find him. 

“SHIT!” he snarled. He was scaring a few buffalo in the process. He quickly came to his feet, removing the grass and dirt he has on his face and shoulders, and just as he was about to take flight, he saw something golden come at him at lightning speed.   
“THE FUCK YOU DON’T!” he yelled at his former snake, and he quickly shoots up in the air to avoid the little annoyance. 

The little staff snake tried to jump after him but missed him by a hair. Crawly laughed at the stupid display, but that quickly stopped when the snake blitzed and appeared just above him. The demon was not fast enough to avoid his former snake, and with a blink of an eye, the little traitor has curled itself around his left arm and turned into an innocent-looking armlet. 

“GET THE FUCK OFF ME! **GET OFF** , YA HEAR!” Crawly snarled at the snake-armlet. He landed back on the ground to get a better grip on the armlet, but it didn’t budge. 

The demon saw that its eyes were glowing. It was calling to the rest of the staff and to whoever was holding the staff. 

In other words, Aziraphale was coming. 

He barely thought that dreadfully thought before he heard a portal opened up behind him. Crawly turned and saw a terrifying sight.

Aziraphale was in full body armor with a new sword in his right hand and the staff in his left. Wings were fully spread out like an Owl, who is just about to grab its prey. For a second, he looked into the many eyes of the angel, and for the first time, he saw the hollow look he has only seen on other Natoque.   
He was in every word, an Angel of death at that moment. 

Crawly barely manage to blink before he was kicked hard to the ground and pinned by the angel. The staff was embedded in the ground just a few inches away from his wings, and the sword was mere inches away from his chest. 

The demon knew he would die without a change of fighting back. He would die by the hands of the angel he was ordered to protect and failed.  
He would die by the hand of his only friend. 

Crawly was scared, but he did not look away from the blue eyes of the angel. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale froze when he realized who he had pinned under him. 

“No... no. No nonononono no,” he begged to everything and quickly backed away “it can’t be you. You **can’t** be him.”

Crawly didn’t say anything. There was no denying it that he was scared too. It felt like Aziraphale’s world broke under his feet and left him in a free fall where no flight abilities could help him. He looked intensely at the demon who still lay on the ground.   
Aziraphale looked at Crawly’s frighten serpentine eyes. Raphael had eyes more like a cat, just like the rest of the Seraphim.  
His wings were wrong too. Raphael had red and golden wings. Not black!

Everything was wrong!

And yet... the snake-armlet told him this was Raphael.

“You can’t be Raphael... you... you don’t **look** like him,” Aziraphale urged. Begging the demon to tell him he used to be someone else before he falls.  
“Please tell me you are not **him.** ”

“I can’t....” Crawly... Raphael whispered. 

Aziraphale’s world felt like it cracked into millions of pieces like his heart once did for centuries ago. The angel who hurt him berated him and used him, where the demon who helped him, listen to him and lo-

“ **No!** You are not him. You are lying!” Aziraphale cried and flared his wings in anger. He pointed the sword against the demon, “ **tell me where Raphael is, demon. You should not hide him from me!** ”

Thunderclaps were heard above them. Dark clouds rolled over them. Like the weather itself came to show the tension between the two immortals. The rain didn’t fall yet. It was like it was waiting for something.

“Terrible, isn’t it?” Raphael whispered, “an anger you can't control. It controls you, makes you blind to your true emotions...”

Aziraphale froze.

“I was.. so angry and confused all the time. Everything I believe in was a lie... and naive you... you. Just. Have to give me the last reason to hurt you” Raphael’s eyes glowed with tears. The thunder in the horizon made them glow with more emotions than ever before, “but I promise you this, Aziraphale. When I finally understood what was happening to me... I regret everything I have ever done to you.”

“Why did you do it... You broke my wings... You tried to **kill** me?”

Raphael looked down in shame.

“The first day I saw you. You made me question everything. I hated you for that” Aziraphale flinched at his words. Raphael looked intensely at him “I needed the questions to stop. So I could return back to my perfect life... no matter the cost.”

“No matter the cost, indeed. You knew how I felt about you and you used me” the angel said with bitterly tears in his eyes. Lightning flashed behind him like to prove his point.

“I regret everything I did to you! I didn’t mean to hurt you like that,” Raphael begged, “but that... thing in my mind. It makes you do things without regret, without-”

“Empathy” Aziraphale ended. He too have seen the hidden lab, the Tekata's showed it too him for a very long time ago and he swore neve to show it to any other angel. 

Was the Raphael he knew in Heaven ever what he was really? Was this in front of him the true Raphael?

“I told the others to find you. To get you back home, so I can personally heal you and ask for your forgiveness,” the demon told him. He slowly got up on his knees, “but I said the wrong things to the wrong people and then...”

“They cast you out,” Aziraphale sighed soberly. This was too much for him. He never wanted this in the first place, “why didn’t you **tell** me?”

“ **I was ashamed!** I wanted you to look at me like I was your friend and not-” Raphael growled in frustrations. “I wanted to start over, and I couldn’t do that if you knew who I was before!”

The first raindrop hit the ground. Only the rain was heard in a long time. The thunder was waiting on the two Natoque to make their last move. To finish what they have started.  
Aziraphale was the first one to move of the two of them. He tossed the staff of healing from him, and it landed hard on the muddy ground.

More than ever... the angel was glad the rain hid his tear of regret. He hardens his heart and his eyes while he walked over to the kneeling demon.

“You did fool me, Raphael. You change yourself so much that you made me believe you were like me,” the angel said cold.

“I’m sorry,” Raphael said with so many emotions, it made the angel’s grip on the borrowed sword tighten, and fighting to hold his true emotions down.

“It doesn’t matter anymore” he pushed the demon onto the ground again. A bolt of lightning hit the ground a few meters away from them. They didn’t notice.  
Aziraphale pinned the demon under him and he lifted his sword over his head. The look the demon gave him was too much, he was scared and eyes full of regret. Aziraphale's walls around his heart crumbled and his last word to the demon was a cry for forgiveness  
“I have to do this. I have no choice. I **have** to do this!”

Raphael looked at him with sadness beyond descriptions. He didn’t fight against the angel. They both knew he would lose no matter what he did. So he just gave up.

“Fo-for whatever a d-demon’s words are wo-worth,” the demon whispered to him, “I forgive you.”

Aziraphale closed his eyes so he could not see the life draining from his friend’s eyes. He strokes the demon’s heart with a pained cry.

-

-

-

“You’re back,” Tiferet said when he noticed the angel come back. She wrinkles his nose at the soaked, mud-covered clothing Aziraphale has on. The high ranking Seraphim were too blind to see the hollow expression in the other angel’s face.

“.... The demon Raphael is dead....” the angel said quietly.

“You did good,” Tiferet said with a proud smile, “Raphael.”

“I would like to keep the name God gave me.”

“Of course,” she said. Aziraphale gave back the blood-covered sword. Tiferet gestured stop when he tried to give back the Caduceus staff. “You can keep the staff, It is yours now.”

Aziraphale only nodded before he walked away from the Seraphim with his new staff in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp.... guess that is it then....


	13. Abraham

it was rainy season on planet Earth and I decided to visit on of my brothers who were watching the world from the thunderous skies. not many know that my kind can stand on the clouds, how could they? It is not like we tell the mortals what we can or cannot do. I saw my brother who has the same colors as a thundercloud; black and gray. sometimes he took the same white color as I did. 

I looked more like an innocent white cloud beside him. 

“Adnima” he greeted me 

“Sumquod. Been a while.”

“Yes, it has.”

I decided that was enough pleasantries and went to business, I knew he was up to something from what I could see the changes in the timeline.  
"Anyway. you are in need of a favor?”   
  
when he turned to look at me, he by accident made lightning. not that the mortals under us knew that.  
“To a degree, yes. I require events there would be turned legends with time, and I need my ideas to be set in motion of powerful beings. I already know you have some of your beings station on Earth.”

“You need one of my Natoque?”

“I am thinking about more. Around five sounds like a good number. Maybe more when the time comes.” 

my frown made the wind calmer around us and I pointed out;   
“That many? The Natoque are blind to the truth.” 

“How much blindness are we talking about?” he asked. Sumquod preferred not to meddle too much in the rest of our kind business. He only meddled with the rest of us when he wanted to be sure he did not step on our toes. 

“Reality blinded and morally too,” I told him.

“You did that?”

“Fuck no. I am trying to reverse this. It easier said than done.”

“Alright, them. As said, my sister; Aecire, and Kitas have been messing around with the dreams and imagination of the mortals. they have made them believe that God-”

“is real, yes yes. that is nothing new. it happens all the time. it is a fixed point” I pointed out to him. 

the rain nearly turned into a hurricane. He was annoyed that I cut him off and I gave him an apology for my hastiness. I knew it was dangerous for the world around us if we turned sour against each other and I tend to forget that Sumquod is a bit of a grumpy one. 

He took a deep breath and all the wind stopped for a moment before roaring back and he said calmer;  
“Some of them think that I have promised them a certain piece of land.”

“You have?”

“Land does not belong to anyone. If you want a place to call your territory, you’ll fight for it like the animal they are evolved from.”

I gave him right in that since my hobby was looking at evolution. he disappeared from the stormy clouds and back to the Void. I followed him.

the void where the only place where we could yell at each other without ruin everything around us. it was a place we saw as our true home and a place no mortal could comprehend. Sumquod summoned the Timeline and I looked it over with him to see what route our plans were going to lead us. 

“Hm. The timeline showed us, you need a Leader, a Messenger, and a Healer.” I hummed while still looking at the timeline. 

“Yes. You have those to me?” Sumquod asked. I saw him raise an eyebrow at me when I groaned in annoyance. 

“A bit of change in my plan, but yes, I have them all ready for you. Give me your ideas for the future, and I will see what I can make them do.”

he reached out to the timeline and ripped copied part of it before handing it to me.  
“Here” 

I looked it over and chuckled at some part of his plans. they were interesting for our kind. humankind possibly didn't think that now when I think about it. 

“What do you think?” Sumquod asked

“You are differently making sure to show the humans that our kind should not be messed with,” I smirked to him. that smirk was Darlain worthy. 

“I am what I am. Adnima. We are outside the time, and we can create everything if we wish.” 

“Indeed, Sumquod, very indeed.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Hey Angel...” the demon Crawly slowly approach Aziraphale like a cautious animal. Aziraphale stood alone on the edge of a cliff far away from any civilization, It was only by pure coincidence that the demon spotted him while flying around. Still keeping his distance, he slowly sat a jug beside the angel as a peace offering “I eh... found some vine you might like”

“Please just go away, Raphael...”

“It’s Crawly... just... Crawly,” Crawly mutters. He was not wrong either; every time Aziraphale said his old name, it didn’t feel like him anymore. It was like talking about someone else who just happened to have the same name as you. Crawly simply did not see himself as Raphael anymore “mind if I sit down?”

“What do you want?”

“Just... talk, I guess,” he sat down. He was still keeping his distance just in case. He finally took a good look at the angel and cringed at what he saw.  
Aziraphale looked terrible. Not in the ‘I have done too much work and now is dirty and sweat like a pig’ kind of awful.  
The angel’s eyes were dull and downcast. His fair skin looked fake like it was made out of marble. His wings did look better than they usually did, but they were held tight to his body like he tried to hide himself.

Aziraphale looked sick if Crawly were honest with himself.  
Even if a Natoque couldn’t get sick.

“You’re alright?” the demon know it was a stupid question, but he was also concerned for the angel.

“Peachy... never been better.”  
Crawly frowned. He was not aware Angels could lie. Aziraphale could lie; apparently  
he decided not to the point that out.

“looks like the other angels treating you better since last” he reached out to touch Aziraphale more groomed wings “wings is not as messy as-”

“NO!” Aziraphale snapped at him and was inches away from smacking Crawly in the face with his wing. The angel went into offense while the demon went into direct flight.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry! No need to go avenging angel on me” Crawly babbled and moved quickly away from the upset angel. Even if Aziraphale did not have his old staff around him at the moment, He was already fully aware that the angel was far stronger than people thought he was. He quickly put his wings in a submission position just for good measure.

Aziraphale fight position melted away, and he just looked so hurt and lost that it hurt the demon only by looking at him.  
“Sorry...” he whispered with genuine tears in his eyes. There was so much pain in those tearful blue eyes, “I’m sorry...”

Crawly slowly walked over to the angel again. His pain and sadness came in waves against the demon, and he wants to say something to ease the pain of the angel.

“I told you; I forgive you. You were forced,” Crawly said gently to his angelic friend. He slowly tried to lay a hand on the angel’s arms. The still very upset angel hesitatingly accepted it, but there were still a lot of walls and bridges between the two of them.

Crawly was not sure he would never forget that day. How the rain has showered them both and how everything has gone down.   
Aziraphale did strike him. It should have killed him right there.  
But it didn’t.  
because Aziraphale held himself back in the last second. He still punctured Crawly's skin but that was all he did.   
In pure survival instinct, Crawly had some sort of way manage to get Aziraphale off of him and was still alive enough to get up on his feet with only a horizontal nasty wound on his chest.  
Aziraphale had entirely been out of it. The horror in his eyes like he just has realized what he has done.   
Aziraphale didn’t say anything to him afterward. He just grabbed the staff and blitzed away from the wounded demon.   
Crawly was not sure why he was still alive or why the angel didn’t try to kill him again.   
He just knew he was lucky enough to see another day. 

Crawly still have the scar from that day, and he was not sure it would ever disappear. He could see Aziraphale’s eyes wandered over his chest more than once.

“I...” Aziraphale mumbled. "I couldn't do it..."

“why?”

“I don't know”  
he refused to look at him.

“Fine, don’t tell me,” Crawly grumbled at him and walked away from him.

“You don’t understand. I **can’t** tell you,” Aziraphale urged. He tried to lay a hand on Crawly’s arm as he had done to the angel. But Crawly felt petty and moved away from the gesture.

“Why?” he demanded with a piercing look at the angel.

“.... It personal,” Aziraphale muttered. He looked away from him again and began fidget with his fingers close to his chest.

“Personal?” Crawly snark

“Mhm,” Aziraphale bit his lip. Whatever he was holding back, it was not meant to Crawly’s ears, “you wouldn’t understand even f I told you.”

The demon snorted  
‘Right. Just I didn’t understand the truth.’

“Try me,” he said instead.

Aziraphale opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then the pained look came back before being taken over by steel and walls.

“I don’t like this conversation” he ended it and walked away from Crawly.  
The demon stared flabbergasted after him when he spread his wings out and flew over the edge of the cliff.

“Hey! You can’t just run away!” he yelled after the angel, “bless it! Angel, wait!” with a quick nose-dive off the cliff to gain some speed, he was soon right in front of the angel and stopped him in midair, “what is wrong with you?!”

“Me?! What is wrong with you?!” Aziraphale yelled back at him. His white-blue wings were bristled up due to how upset he was. “I tried to kill you- I was going to do it! And you decided to come to talk to me?!”

“But you didn't kill me! why?!” Crawly argued back loudly. It annoyed him a little that he has to yell over his wingbeats since they were quite noisy. Unlike the angel’s who were quite. He flew closer to the angel, so their beating wings almost touch “What are you not telling me?!”

“None of your business. I am going to leave!”

“No, you're not! Not before you are telling me why you look like something a cat coughed up!"

“How dare you! I am an angel and I have no reason to tell you anything!” 

“Then go and be all buddy-buddy with the rest of your stuck-up instead!”

“Fine!”

“ **Fine** , see if I care!”   
Crawly did not fly after the retreating angel this time. He was too angry and upset to keep following him. 

He hated to admit to himself that he already missed that stupid angel.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly sat with a bunch of deamons playing a game; he was still not entirely sure how to play. The deamons were not his sort. But more the descendant of the Nephilims who went extinct millions of years ago. These deamons looked more like a mixture of a human and a dragon these days, but it didn’t bother Crawly. They thought him as a Half-demon or a mix.

How ironic 

“ _For fuck sake, you are good at this game!_ ” a big brute of a male deamon growled laughing. His friends were laughing at his unlucky in winning against Crawly, who just smiled innocently.   
They didn’t need to know he was cheating. 

“ _Yup. Now pay up, big guy,_ ” Crawly said with the same tongue as the native. Unlike other demons, he was quick to pick up the language around him. Make his temping easier too. 

“ _What about some higher odds?_ ” the brute leaned towards him with a glint in his eyes, which looked a lot like Seraphim eyes. He was at least double as big as Crawly, but that part didn’t bother the demon. “ _winners buy dinner for the other?_ ”  
The Fallen Angel laughed. Unlike many other cultures on the current Anuvina, the Deamon have a very loose sexuality preference. They pretty much flirted with everything with a heart and a brain to speak. He was about to accept the offer when he saw a metal snake slither towards him from the shadows.   
He knew the angel was looking for him. 

“ _Pass,_ ” he said without breaking his carefree character. He took his earned money and toss some to the deamons and then sauntered out of the bar with a wave, “ _maybe another time!_ ”

He didn’t care what the brute was calling after him, and he kept walking when he felt his old staff snake slighter up at his leg. He grabbed it while it slithered up at his hip and sat it around his wrist, where it turned into a beautiful snake bracelet.   
He decided to find a barren place, just in case the two of them ended up fighting again. 

Crawly blitzed out of the forest village where he was doing his business and ended up a least few kilometers outside the town. He only turned his head a little when he heard a portal open up behind him. 

“Guess you want this little shit back” he called to Aziraphale and waved with the hand where the snake bracelet was, the angel came up beside him with the staff staff in hand, and the snake on Crawly shoot off his wrist and back to its rightful place on the staff.  
Crawly tipped his head a little towards the staff of healing  
“you are getting better at using that thing.”

“I...I want to make a deal with you,” Aziraphale said quickly. He looked even sicker than last time he saw him, and there was also a hint of desperation in his eyes.   
Crawly didn’t want to fight Aziraphale again, so he ignored the appearance of the angel and asked; 

“What type of deal?”

“Michael is determined that I-” he made a vague gesture towards Crawly, “look like you to my next assignment. I told them that I succeed killing Raphael- Not actually lying since you don’t see yourself as-”

“Aziraphale. I get it”

“Right, sorry” the angel looked embarrassed down, Crawly’s eyes most have landed on the staff he holds awkwardly(it was obvious he did not train in staff combat), and he holds out the staff to him “I will give you this as my bargaining chip for you helping me.”

Crawly looked at his old staff. Aziraphale didn’t use it to its full potential, and it was very tempting to get his old weapon back. He slowly let his fingers stroke the stave there still recognized him, but he knew he would not be able to command it anymore since he has fallen, and no demon was able to control a holy weapon since it would burn their skin.  
Sadden he pushed the staff back to Aziraphale

“I can’t take it. it belongs to you now-”

“ **I don’t want it**!” Aziraphale cried, his sudden angry outburst made the demon jump up like a spooked cat. “I never wanted it! I never asked for any of this! I just wanted to be myself and allowed to feel-” he let out a pained breath of air “it doesn’t matter now. What do you want in return for helping me?”

Crawly found his sudden change in personality scary. He prefers the smiling, happy wriggling, and bit socially awkward part of the angel.

Not the act-like-the-rest-of-my-lot demeanor he has gotten lately. 

“You let me live... I think that is more than enough to what you are asking for,” Crawly said genuinely. 

“That doesn’t count. It was a fluke and you know it” Aziraphale said curtly. he did notice the angel’s eyes run quick over his chest with a guilty glint. 

“It does for me,” Crawly said gently. Slowly he took his hand out to seal the deal “deal?”

Aziraphale looked at the hand with a hurtful look. He took it quickly to seal the deal before with lightning speed, let go of the demon’s hand as it has burned him.  
Crawly tried not to feel hurt by his gesture. 

“How are we going to do this? Shapeshift? Metamorphose?” Aziraphale quickly asked. He still looked very uncomfortable and he were still holding the staff all wrong. 

“No, I were thinking more a body change,” Crawly said with a snap of his fingers, and the staff turned into a big bracelet on Aziraphale hand, Crawly was glad to see that it still listen to some of his commands. The angel looked relieved at the snake-bracelet. “I got an idea. We are just going to swift bodies. Like borrowing each other's clothing except this is just a step further.”

“You make it sound easy,” Aziraphale grumbled. He was fidgeting with his new bracelet, “you ever tried it before?”

“Nope,” Crawly grinned “the first time for both of us,” he gestured to the angel to give him his hand, then hesitated “fair warning; might get weird.”

“I got used to my wings got shuck into my back, and all of my eyes turned into two big ones in my skull, I think I can get used to this one-time thing,” Aziraphale said primly. He took his hand, and Crawly concentrated on his shifting body theory.

It showed quickly that it was easier said than done. A Natoque’s body was a fortress and had defenses that no mere mortal have or could ever get.   
The mind of a Natoque was not as complicated as humans but still worked higher than any animal. Crawly made sure that the process that happened through their magic there was directly connected to their blood.   
Unfortunately; being on different sides made their magic and core attack the shifting and it hurt. Like an immune system attacking a virus.

Crawly winched uncomfortably, it felt like he were sick with a flue, and his whole body ache because of this. He opened his eyes and saw his own body acting completely out of character. His own serpentine eyes have gotten a blue hue in them, and his hands kept fidgeting with the clothing he got. 

“I take what I said back. I didn’t like this,” his own voice said with a timid tone. Crawly stared at himself with a frown before just deciding to take this whole experience with a ton of salt.

“Yeah, swapping minds were not as easy as I thought it would be,” Crawly said with Aziraphale voice. Hearing himself speaking as the angel was confusing to his poor brain, “I feel fucking weird right now.”

He saw his face do the imitation of a Goldfish. It was incredibly comical looking at. 

“So I am literately inside of your body right now?” Aziraphale looked at Crawly’s hands. It was crazy seeing himself blink that much. Aziraphale frowned with marvel “you hear a lot more than I do. It is amazing how much you can hear. I can almost hear the grass grow!” he sniffed the air and frowned astonish. “I can taste the flavor of the air! There are so many flavors,” he stuck Crawly’s tongue out. Crawly in Aziraphale's body would have found this treatment of his own body offended if not the angel looked so genuine astonish and curious. Aziraphale spread out his blackened wings, and then his expression change   
“oh dear, what in the world are your wings doing? Why are they-no please stop that- no, no, why are they doing that- I just told them to stop! Crawly! What is going on with your wings?!” 

Crawly couldn’t do it anymore.  
He cracked.  
And he roared in laughter.   
Full-blown belly laughter and there was no stopping it.

“Stop laughing!” Aziraphale yelled, annoyed at him. Crawly saw his wings flared up, making his own body looks like a black spooked peacock. Making the demon laugh even harder

“Sorry. It just-” Crawly tried to contain his laughter, but it was so hard “funny, seeing you freak out.” 

“I am not freaking out. Your wings have a mind of their own!”

“Here, let me help you putting them in their place” Crawly chuckle and walked over to his body. He first now realized that Aziraphale was slightly shorter than himself. Ignoring that fact, he gestured to Aziraphale to turn his back to him. He gently took hold of his wings and helped the angel to fold them neatly onto his back. He could feel that the extra muscle in his wings was a bit jerkier than normal. Possible a thing they did since the mind of the body was not used to this body. 

“Better?” he asked when his wings finally stayed folded behind his back.

“Much better. Still a bit fidgety, but I think that is my own fault,” Aziraphale said. He hesitated a little before asking, “Crawly. does my body feel strange to you?”

The demon thought about it and took the time to feel his borrowed body. The ache was painful but not enough to immobilize him completely, he still didn't like the experience and wanted it over as soon as possible. Ignoring the ache, he felt Aziraphale's body was slightly heavier than his own. His bones felt denser, and he was sure it took a lot more force to crack the angel’s bones. He took a look around and grinned when noticing;  
“A little, you have great eyesight, though. Feels like I can see everything without moving an inch” he frowned when he ‘looked’ at his own body again “oh, there is a problem.”

“What? Did something wrong happen? Oh, I knew-”

“Your ears.”

“My ears? Don’t you mean your ears-”

“Yours-mine-whatever” Crawly waved off, “we need to give you my old ears.”

“Oh! like this?” Aziraphale closes his eyes in concentration, and Crawly’s ears turned from pointy to the common Seraphim winged-looking ears. He looked at Crawly with a big smile, and the demon could not help but smile back. Aziraphale looked at his wings with a curious expression and asked;  
“I don't think I should change your wings, I might need to come up with an excuse for the others if they ask. How come you look different from what I remembered you looking like in Heaven? You didn’t have black wings or snake eyes at that time?”

“Got all of it after I fell. Nearly all demons got these types of things from the Boss as a welcome gift” Crawly shrugged. He noted his shrugs were a bit stronger than they normally were, and something told him if Aziraphale actually did like battling, he would have been able to pin a raging ox to the ground ”Hell is not very keen on you keeping anything angelic”

Aziraphale nodded in understanding. He still had an unsure look in his eyes.  
“you’re sure this would work?”

“I am sure. Your eyes are a bit off and wing color is wrong too, but no Natoque with the block in their brain would notice that” Crawly said positively, he added quickly, “if they do ask about it, you can always say it was a side effect.”

Aziraphale sighed deep. Probably to control his nerves, and he opened a portal to his new mission.

“Where should we meet... to change our bodies back? I like to make this a short experience as possible” Aziraphale asked

Crawly thought about it for a second before snapping a command with his fingers, and the staff snake sprung to life and slighter up at the demon in disguise arm and turn into a new bracelet.   
“Tell your part to contact me when you are alone. Then I will find you.” 

“Alright then,” Aziraphale said with a little smile, before going through the portal, he turned around and asked, “wish me luck?”

Crawly smile genuinely   
“Best of luck, Angel.”

Aziraphale smiles sweetly to him before the portal closed.  
Crawly stood for a second, looking at the place where the angel’s portal once was.

“Heaven sake, I look funny when I smile like that,” Crawly muttered to himself

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale didn’t even try to fly with Crawly’s wings. They were too strange for him, and he made a mental note to himself to ask the demon why they were so animated.   
He could think about that later. He fished up his own heavenly tablet, which has notes about all of the future plans for him as Raphael. 

There are quite a few.

‘Might need Crawly’s help more than this time. What a mess this is.’

He disliked how much his 'new' body ached and burned. He thought he managed to hide his discomfort when he walked over to two other angels who were sitting near a little lake. Aziraphale noted that Gabriel was walking on water with no care that that was not normal human behavior. 

“Gabriel, Micheal,” he greeted the two others. Both of them looked at him. Micheal frowned but did not say anything. Gabriel grinned;

“Aziraphale! Glad to see you finally stop lacking with your duty” he flew over to him “new body is looking good. A bit more muscles or less fumbling around, and you look like a real commanding angel.”

“Ahhaha, yes, yes,” Aziraphale laughed nervously. He noted with shock that either Gabriel or Micheal have six wings at the current moment, “where are your wings?”

“Hidden away,” Michael said seriously. They came up on their feet, and Aziraphale saw they she looked exactly like a human. Even their normal reddish eyes were dulled down to chestnut color, “the Almighty told us it was best to look like the Humans in avoiding scary them.”

“We can’t have that now, can’t we?” Gabriel said. He didn’t sound upset if they, by accident, spooked a bunch of humans. Aziraphale noted that the two other angels' wings were not ‘hidden’ in the same sense as his own. Theirs were turned invisible for the human’s eyes. They were still there and could still knock humans over. Aziraphale decided to keep that in mind in case he decided to change tactics in how he hides his wings. While walking behind the two others, he materialized Crawly’s wings into his back and glad he was at the back so the two other angels could not see him flinch in dismay when he felt the extra wing bones melt into his borrowed back.

‘That explains why Crawly’s wings act so weird. They have more than one wing bone inside of them. He most have some kind of way melted his two remaining wings together. Clever serpent, very clever.’

They walked in silence until they came to a human establishment where Aziraphale saw an older gentleman sitting inside of the tent. The elderly human looked up and jumped onto his feet to greet them. Micheal walked over to him. 

“ _Abraham? We are here in the name of Our Lord,_ ” they said seriously in the human's tongue. The glamour of their wings disappeared for a little moment.   
Aziraphale felt bad for the poor man for nearly get a heart attack by Micheal’s antics. 

Abraham asked them what kind of food they wanted(Micheal picked for all of them), and he told his wife Sarah and some of his servants to prepare the food for their guests. While Abraham was preparing the food with his family, Aziraphale sat down with the two other angels in the shade of a palm tree. He saw Gabriel wince. 

“Let us make this meeting quick. Sitting like a human is painful for my wings.”  
He folded his still invisible purple wings out behind his back in order to sit better, but by the better sitting position, he looked like a giant bird who sunbathed. He ended up folded them behind his back again to get his superior demeanor back. 

‘Note to self. Invisible wings are might faster but do not give you any freedom.’ 

“Exile your pain, Gabriel,” Micheal said harshly to the other angel, “Raphael is not complaining.”

Gabriel glance at Aziraphale with cold annoyance.

“You do remember your duty to this human? We can’t have you screwing it all up, **Cherubim** ” Gabriel said. It was clear he did not like a Cherubim were better by a hair to do something than himself. Aziraphale tried to ignore his glaring.

“Of course,” Aziraphale said and swifts a little in his sitting position. Crawly’s body was too bony to be sitting comfortably on the ground in a more extended period of time. He added a bit annoyed, “and please do not call me Raphael when we are alone. I prefer the name God gave me.”

“You are Raphael now,” Micheal said with a small growl. Their reddish eyes glowed to state how serious they were. Aziraphale quickly lowered his head to show he understood. 

The human came back with a basin of water. He asked them to wash their feet in a show of respect while they waited on the food. Again, Micheal accepted for all of them. 

Aziraphale, who already were used to bathing and being touch by humans, have nothing against the foot washing. He made sure to compliment the elderly man for a good job.   
Micheal didn’t even look like they cared. Aziraphale was sure; they could sit in a lava bath and still wouldn’t care.   
Gabriel was stiff and tense. He surely didn’t like a lesser being touching him but only allowed the foot bathing due to the fact Micheal keep glaring at him when his wings were acting too much out.   
It made the purple-eyed Seraphim glare even more at Aziraphale for being so calm. 

The food ordeal was also a battle in itself. It looked and smelled good, but Aziraphale has never in his life eaten anything before. He notices that the two other angels were only acting like they ate, but Aziraphale found it rude not to taste the food there was prepared for them just a little.

‘As Crawly would say it... First time for everything,’ he thought and took a small piece(while ignoring the look Gabriel gave him) of cake and put it into his mouth.   
The cake was a good choice for the first time eater. It was sweet and easy to chew(he kept his visible eyes on Abraham in the hope of quickly learning how to eat like a human), but the swallowing part was a bit tricky, but he manages to do so without coughing.   
He took some few more bits of every food in front of him(still ignoring Gabriel’s glaring) since he was curious how all human food tasted like now. 

While nipping at his roasted calf, Micheal began speaking.   
“ _Abraham. We have three messages from God to you and your people_.”

Abraham sat better up to show he was listening,  
“ _Your wife will carry you a son._ ” Micheal said. Her eyes landed on Abraham’s wife, who overheard the conversation and were laughing in surprise, _“what do you find funny, Daughter of Eve?_ ” 

“ _My deepest apologies to the Lord. But I am old, and no women in my age can carry_ ,” Abraham’s wife Sarah said when she came closer to them. 

“ _You will carry a son. His name shall be Issac and raised in God’s name. He is already growing inside of you as we speak,_ ” Micheal said seriously.   
Sarah stopped laughing. Looking down at herself and then ran off with one last look at her equally shocked husband. 

Aziraphale made a mental note to congratulate them later. 

“ _We are here to give you a warning. Sodom and Gomorrah will fall to ruins be consumed by fire and brimstone, and anyone inside the walls will perish,_ ” Gabriel said. Aziraphale tried not to choke on his drink by his words.   
Abraham looked equally horrified. 

“ _All of them? My nephew is inside of those walls, and more than fifty men loyal to God are dwelling in the city. Y-you cannot destroy the people of God._ ”

Gabriel and Micheal shared a look with each other. Aziraphale was not sure they have a mental connection, or Gabriel was just asking for Micheal’s help, it didn’t matter what it was it was Gabriel who spoke up again;

“ _Alright. If more than ten good people are inside of those walls when the day of judgment comes, all the people inside will be spared._ ”

Aziraphale didn’t like he avoided saying the towns themselves will be spared too. They were surely meant to get destroyed. 

“ _Thank you,_ ” the elderly human sighed a breath in relief. Aziraphale hid his true feelings when it was his turn to speak and walked closer to the human. 

“ _I am here to heal your pain,_ ” he said gently and lay his hands on the leg of the elderly man. He found it rude to touch the place where he really needed the healing. But he was powerful so close by were good enough. He felt the man relax when he healed the scars and pain out of his old body. Making sure the two other angels did not hear the part he was going to say now, he quickly acted like he healed the man’s shoulders too and whispered into his ears;  
“ _I will make sure your nephew and his family will survive no matter the town of Sodom will fall or not._ ”   
After saying that, he quickly returned to his place beside the two other angels, there was about to leave. Abraham and Sarah bid them farewell. 

“ _May God be with you all,_ ” Abraham said to them. He looked very overwhelmed by this whole ordeal. 

“ _She always is,_ ” Micheal said and told the two others to follow them with the last look at the two humans. Gabriel quickly followed them, but Aziraphale lingered. There was one last thing he needed to do. He promptly went back and kissed both of them on the forehead. He was happy to feel that Crawly’s body was still able(maybe because it was him who possessed the body?) to do blessings of these sorts.

“ _God bless you both,_ ” he told them both quick after giving them both a life-long blessing “ _I give you both a longer life, so you can see your son grow up to a fine young man._ ” 

Not waiting for an answer from the two humans, he quickly left and followed the two other angels who already have opened a portal. 

-

Back at the World tree, all three angels went back to their true forms. 

“That went well. Time to ask some of the scripture angels fo-where are you going?” Gabriel asked when he notices Aziraphale was opening a new portal 

“Going back to Earth. I already have all of my memos on my tablet,” he said. He showed his celestial tablet to the Seraphim for good measure.

“What about your paperwork? You can’t neglect that”

“You will have my notes at the end of the day,” he called after the Seraphim. He was sure he would later get a verbal beating by leaving so suddenly in front of the two Seraphim, but right now, he has other things to be concern about. The portal opened up back on Earth, and he landed on top of a small mountain someplace in the middle east. he looked at his snake bracelet  
“Hey there. Find Crawly for me,” he said friendly to the staff snake. the snake's gem-eyes immaterially glows up like a beacon. 

Aziraphale didn’t have to wait longer than five minutes before a new portal opened up in midair, and he saw himself come flying out of it. Crawly in his body landed a bit harder than necessary(most have forgotten that he is a bit heavier than average), and he looked at Aziraphale with more greenish eyes while he folded his wings one his back.

“That was faster than I expected. How did it go?” Crawly asked

“First, I would like to be back in my own body, if you don’t mind,” Aziraphale said to the demon. Said demon grinned(a grin Aziraphale have never seen on his own face, and he was not sure it should ever cross his face ever again) at him and gave him his hand. Aziraphale quickly took it, and he felt the switch. Back in their own body, both of them ruffled their wings in unpleasant  
“thank God, so much better,” Aziraphale sighed in relief. He stretched his own(normal acting) wings while asked the demon, “what do you know about Sodom?” 

“Not much, know the town beside called Gomorrah. Sell some very eminent drinks. Might I could tempt you-”

“Both towns are going to be destroyed.”

“ **What!?** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- the Deamon is one of my own creations. they look like this https://www.deviantart.com/fableworld/art/Mountain-Dragon-Demon-Human-Form-475757071 or this https://www.deviantart.com/fableworld/art/FableTuber-You-Should-Fear-Me-744176669
> 
> \- Anuvina is the name on my world and it also were the demons/Hell is located.


	14. Sodom

The town of Sodom and its neighbor town were said to be located by the Jordan River in the Middle east. The town of Sodom, Gomorrah, Asmah, Zeboim, and Bela were also sometimes called by visitors “the second Eden.”  
Crawly could not blame them for that. Sodom has an incredibly beautiful garden. Most of the people were very accepting, and most of all, they made one hell of a good drink.   
Crawly sat in one of the gardens with one said drink with Aziraphale, who will. Not. Stop. Fidgeting. 

“Will you stop that” she finally said to the angel, “you are making me nervous too.”

“Sorry. I just can't see why this place will meet God's wrath.”

“Not God's wrath. It is all about the wrath of nature,” just as Crawly said it, and the whole ground shook a little. Few people felt it too, but they ignored it since those shakes were normal. She made a hand gesture at the small quake “feel that? The earth itself is preparing for something.”

“But what?” the angel asked nervously. Crawly shrugged and lay her veil better over her head. It was not a good idea at the current moment to let the humans see her serpentine eyes. She also finds it better to look more like a human woman in this town for better tempting. But at the current moment, she was off the job. 

“Volcanic eruption, tsunami. Poison gasses or just a simple earthquake. Take your pick” Crawly shrugged and took a drink of her mug. Bloody good drink. She made a large hand gesture at the world around them “this big bloody planet does not care who gets caught in the crossfire of those things. When it happened, it happens.”

“So this place will be destroyed no matter what” Aziraphale question sounded more like a statement. He did not sound happy about it while he was looking at the humans around them. 

“Surely. The towns are built on earthly deathtraps,” Crawly said. She made a mental note to steal the drink he liked here since they will not be here for long. She looked intensely over the rim of her mug “it is just the question of how many humans will survive the destruction of Sodom.” 

Aziraphale looked at her with absolute confusion at first, like he had no idea what she was talking about. Then his expression turned thoughtful and then at last; determined.

“I might be able to do something. Gabriel is ordered to save someone named Lot and his family,” he said and took a large gulp of his own drink “I could ask to come with him and- well, save more of God's children.”

“Nobody is really Her children. Not even we are,” Crawly said matter of fact. Aziraphale nodded in understanding. The demon was happy to have the angel around and could speak about the Natoque's past. Last time she tried that with other angels, she lost one set of her wings and was cast out. Talking with the demons was not better either since they push first and ask questions later, “and these towns have more people inside of them that that the day of the Flood.”

She saw the angel take the last gulp of his drink before standing up. Crawly stayed where she was.

“I will try and talk with the other angels about all of this, and they might know how to stop it,” Aziraphale said determinedly. Crawly had a feeling the angel will not go through another Flood incident again. 

“You know where you can find me,” she said gently after Aziraphale. The angel nodded and walked away, leaving the demon alone.

-

Crawly flew over the soon-to-be destroyed towns. He had not seen the angel for at least a month, but he knew the angel still were in the area. At the current moment, he was looking at moving mountains. He was already aware it was not a mountain taking a stroll, but something very big.   
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a similar white figure stand on a tall building nearby.   
Smiling, he flew over and landed beside Aziraphale, who greeted him with a small nod.

“That is one way to tell that something is up” Crawly pointed at the gigantic creature in the horizon from what he could see of the giant creature looked eerily like a giant eagle or a griffin with the same colors as the mountains around it.  
He had a feeling the humans were not able to see it. Probably because of that ancient magic there flew in its veins. The same magic the Natoque had gotten from these beings. He gave Aziraphale a side glance  
“Only thought there were two of them.”

“I knew there were more of them. Just didn't know how to tell about it,” Aziraphale said, still looking at the God on the mountain.

“Really? Hell has one too. It is lurking around by the gates. Seen that one once or twice. Not very keen on being seen as the big boss of us.”

“Explains a lot. Satan is seen as your leader no matter who you ask.”

They both stayed in comfortable silence while looked at God. It slowly turned its head toward them. it looked at them with sky-blue eyes covered in clouds and it has a far older appearance than the other Gods they have seen. For a second, it looked like it was looking at them expectantly.

“Can't remember how She looked like before I fell. You're sure that's not her?” Crawly asked

“Positive. Her eyes are green, and this one looks more male than female and if I remember right, She prefers to look like white animals... not dark grey ones” Aziraphale said

"Ah yes, I think I once saw Her on Anuvina as a White stag"

"... Sounds like She cares just as much on what gender She is as you do, Crawly"

Then, just like that, the ancient being disappeared into the mist around the mountains, and it was like it was never there in the first place.   
The angel and the demon waited a little longer to see if it came back, but there was only mist in the mountains — no giant God-like creatures.

“Ah,” Crawly mumbled. He took his eyes away from the mysterious mist and smirked at the angel who gave him a confused look, “another demon hanging around the town told me they saw two angels talking to the humans. Any change one of those angles were you?”

“Not this time. Gabriel did not want me to follow him,” Aziraphale ruffled his feather in minor annoyance. He took a quick look around before moving closer to the demon(who bowed his head to listen better) and said in a quite secretive voice “for what I saw; he came back with another Seraphim called Sandalphon-”

“Ugh”

“You know him?”

“To a certain degree. Very choppy-happy sort of angel.”

“Oh dear, that explains the blood.”

“What blood? Don't tell me. I don't want to know.” 

a beat of silence between them, then Crawly asked;  
“Did you notice He was looking at us?” Aziraphale gave him a confused look, “like He was waiting for us to do something?”

“What in the world would that be?” 

“Well, towns can't be saved no matter what.” he looked thoughtful at Aziraphale “unless...?”

“The other angels will not stop whatever is coming” the angel was ruffling his feathers in annoyance again. Crawly made a noise of disappointment but decided not to say it out loud. Sometimes Heaven was just as bad as Hell. Aziraphale gave him a hopeful look, “do you think you can ask Hell for a favor?”

“Hell doesn't save people out of the goodness of their heart,” Crawly grumbled. He felt bad when he saw Aziraphale hope deflate. He was about to say something to cheer the angel up. Then he remembered the conversation he had with Beleth a few decades ago “... I think there might be something.”

“Oh?”

“Could be nothing, but I am going to ask anyway,” he snapped with his fingers, and a portal back to Hell opened. Before entering, he looked concerned at Aziraphale “might be dangerous for you to stay around if-”

“I am staying here,” Aziraphale huffed “I will not leave before I at least get more than two families to leave before the destruction.”

“Alright... just be... you know; careful.”

“You too.”  
with a genuine smile to the angel. He left. 

-

Finding Lucifer was not hard. He was in the nine circles of Hell, where the supposed traitors were sent after death. It was true that Natoque was able to take the souls of the death, and the Demons took the souls of the wicked. But making souls suffer in the nine circles of Hell was just ridiculous for Crawly.   
First of all, Souls were unaware of everything and could not feel anything either. Torturing a soul was really just a waste of time for everybody. 

No, the circles of Hell were only built like this to create a bit order in a work environment there was commonly in utter chaos. 

Crawly never liked to be down in the nine circles. It was always so fucking cold down there all the time and was really messing his cold-blooded body up. He stole the first blanket he found on the way down and folded it around his shaken body.   
He also grumbles a lot of colorful swear words and pushed through the crowded halls the whole way down.

He found Lucifer sitting at a small lava pit since Hell was located under an active volcano. The heat from the pit helped Crawly's poor body to relax. He slowly sat nearby Lucifer but still kept his distance.

“Crawly....” Lucifer looked surprised at him with his blue eyes when he sat down, but did not hunt him away or snarled to him to find his own Lava pit. It was a good sign. “what a pleasant surprise.”

Lucifer was a very beautiful Fallen angel. Unlike many other demons who change their appearance, Lucifer kept his angelic appearance, and he all of his six Seraphim wings shined in a golden and royal blue color. He and Samael were evenly matched in strength, so there is no way Samael can take the other demon's soul without consent.   
Crawly knew Lucifer from before the rebellion. He used to be one of the Messenger angels before falling. As Raphael; he didn't spend a lot of time with the other once Seraphim, only when he was in need of healing. 

“Lucifer. Heard from one of your... followers that you wanted to talk to me,” Crawly said in a quiet tone. He knew it was best to keep this between the two of them.   
Lucifer gave him a piercing look like a shooting star. It was noticed that the other demon did not trust him at all. Trust was hard to earn from other demons. 

“I noticed you spent a lot of time with Samael.” 

“Satan does not give me much of choice.” 

“You don't like him? The feeling is mutual... I felt used by him.”

“Don't we all? at least you got a lot of power when following him” Crawly snorted and tried to show off a relaxed appearance.   
Lucifer learned a bit more towards him with a similar glint in his eyes.  
Crawly realized that the other demon has the potential to gain the Sight like himself. 

“Crawly, I took my time to learn why every single demon falls from grace. Every one of us falls for selfish reasons. Myself included,” he said seriously, “but I never found out why you fall.”

“Asked too many questions and said the wrong answer to the wrong people,” Crawly answered. 

“A pity reason to be cast out.”

“Angels are a bunch of wankers.” 

Lucifer hesitated a little before asking  
“You don't want to rise again?”

Crawly sat up better and glared seriously at the other demon. He better not make a fool out of him.  
“That even possible?” 

“Perhaps. Before casting out, the Almighty told me that if the demons learned to see their mistakes and felt regret for their crimes,” he told, “She would greet us back into Heaven.”

Crawly leaned a bit back. He was feeling a bit off with this new information. He decided to ask a bit further to see where this was going.  
“Do you feel regret?” 

“I am not sure what that word means, Serpent of Eden,” Lucifer answer(highly possible) truthfully. He looked curious at Crawly, “do you feel regret?”

Crawly kept his eye contact with the other demon, but his mind was screaming at this new information.   
He could feel regret. He felt it the next day he hurt Aziraphale.   
He could feel a bunch of other emotions he have no names for yet but it Lucifer's information were right, that means;

' I can come back as an Angel. I have a better chance to return back to the Heavenly host than any other demons down here.'

That thought excited and scared him at the same time, but he did not show it. He decided not to tell Lucifer about his thoughts for the time being.   
He did not fully trust the other demon at the current moment. 

“No,” he lied. Lucifer looked disappointed, and he asked: “you want to be an angel again?”

“Yes... and there are others who wish the same,” the other demon told. He gave him a curious look “I am hoping you are one of them.”

That hit a bit too close for Crawly's taste. What can he say to that?   
Crawly didn't like the other angels for what they did to him. He didn't want to be an angel and go back to be Raphael. 

No

He wanted to stay at Aziraphale's side, and he was not sure he could do that as a Demon. 

“I.... am....” Crawly slowly admitted to Lucifer

“We can help each other,” Lucifer whispered urgently, “groom each other's wings and try to find the answer to our problems.”

“A deal for a deal,” Crawly smirked, “ever heard of the Town of Sodom?”

Lucifer looked confused at him and leaned back with a hint of dismay  
“They are going to be destroyed together with their neighbor town. the Death angels are going to be there.”

“We could go too,” Crawly urged. Lucifer did not look impressed by these suggestions, so he quickly added, “For what I heard; it is going to be written down in stories that these towns have sinned. I don't think we get a better chance to do something good in the name of Evil.”

“You want us... to save humans?” Lucifer asked. Clearly taken aback. His eyes shown a certain dislike toward the mortal beings “why would you risk your own wings for something as weak as them?”

“Have to start somewhere,” Crawly said simply while going back to his relaxed attitude behavior. Lucifer did not look convincing, so Crawly urged, “a lot of us fall because refusing to bow to the weaker beings. helping humans might help you to gain back some virtue point from Heaven.” 

Lucifer narrows his eyes toward him. Crawly felt his anxiety shoot through the roof of the mountain Hell lay under. He knew why he wanted to save the people of Sodom and the other town(because of a certain Angel and because he did like the human race), but he was now unsure Lucifer would believe him. He desperately holds on to his carefree attitude while watching the other demon. Lucifer gave at him with a fanged grin.

“Clever snake. You really thought about this,” he chuckled. He spread the largest of his wings out to gesture to the door at the far end at the cave. “I will tell the others about this plan and- oh Crawly,” said demon was about to stand up and take the blanket around him again when Lucifer got his attention. Lucifer glances at him with a piercing look,   
“try to keep this conversation to yourself. Samael does not like traitors.” 

With those words, Lucifer walked gracefully out of the door. Leaving a Crawly behind who still stood near the lava pit. He shivered a little at that warning. 

“Durably noted,” he mumbled out into the empty room. 

-

Unbeknownst to the humans of the four doomed cities, around eighteen Demons sat around and tried to blend in with the humans. Only one of them was successful.   
  
“I can't believe we are saving humans,” a dark-skinned and blue-winged demon named Orias said haughtily. Crawly knew her from before as Kokabiel, a Lordship Seraphim who were once the leader of the Guiding angels and even gave commands to Lucifer, but after falling, she lost a lot of power and were now an Earl; the third lowest rank of the Demons. Crawly had a feeling she got such a low rank because she blamed Samael for her falling and surely also the reason she was here today. She looked at the humans like they were a bunch of cockroaches who offended her. 

“They are not that bad when you get to know them,” Harut said. His identical twin, Marut(both of them have brown wings and hair), nodded beside him.   
Harut and Marut were once Virtues Archangels. Crawly have heard from both of them(and the rest from either Samael himself or rumors) that they were one of those Rebels who mated with mortal beings but unlike other Nephilim makers; they actually 'falled in love' with the humans they mated with. Crawly heard from the shadows that they ended up killing either a human or another angel(story differ from person to person) when they tried to hide their outspring from the other Rebel angels.   
It didn't work, of course.   
And both of them are now demons who are hardly bullied or beaten by higher-ranking demons all the time due to their extremely low rank.   
Crawly felt bad for both of them. Especially when he heard that their outspring were killed by Sandalphon and an unknown Punishment angel. 

“Oh, I know how you and Marut got to know the human bitch-” Orias began but were cut off. 

“Stop bickering. We are supposed to be together on this” Lucifer stopped them when Harut jumped up to snarl at Orias jab. Both of them looked at him before slowly sitting down again, still glaring at each other. 

Crawly took a larger sip of his drink through the whole commotion. 

“What about him. We don't even know where the snake is standing in all of this” a demon called Vassago looked suspicious at Crawly.   
The demon Vassago was once known as Arakiel, a Principalities Archangel. She was once one of those angels who helped to build the Garden of Eden on Earth before falling. Crawly could see that the demon still liked flowers and plants like before falling(even though Vassago couldn't see) since she has a lot of different plants stuck in her hair and brown wings. She looked like a mess, actually.   
Crawly was not sure why they fall, but he knew that Vassago better like flora than humans. 

Crawly frowned at Vassago's suspicion and sat down his mug. 

“Sssuggested this plan, you bloody idiot,” he hissed at the other demon.   
Vassago frowned at him.

“The snake of Eden. The first tempter of humankind,” Vassago grinned superciliously, “likes the humans?”

“I just like to mess with them” Crawly drawled up his lie. He did like the human for being so bloody creative with everything they touched. He also liked the drinks they made. 

The other demon did not say anything to that. 

“Alright, enough talk,” Lucifer said simply. All of them stood up when the former Seraphim did “find as many humans you can and remove them from this area.” 

“Oh! And if you run into some angels out there,” Crawly quickly added. He was the only one of the demons who paid for his drink, “leave them to me.”

“You are taking all the fun for yourself?!” a demon named Avnas snarled at him.   
Avnas were called Maalik when he was an angel. He used to be a punishment Principalities angel.   
Even before he fell, he was a major deadbeat who didn't even know the word of smiling. He did show a small sign of regrets of falling, but he also has a good reason since the fire-winged demon did help Samael to created Hellfire out from Holy fire. 

“I have a personal bone to pick with them” Crawly serpentine eyes shoot lightning for daring Avnas to talk back at him. He didn't.   
Avnas were more bark and than bite. 

Crawly was a bit of both. he tried not to show it too much in Hell since that could get him in trouble with stronger demons.

“Fly out and try not to die for all of this,” Lucifer said to them before spreading out his wings, which have the same colors as the morning sun. Two other demons followed him while the rest of them spread out. 

The humans of Sodom did not notice the demons in flight. They were too busy with their own lives to look up and see both angels and demons flying over their town.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- 

Through the three days Aziraphale has been around Sodom and the three other towns, he has managed to save eight families, including Abraham's nephew, as he promised to the elderly human. It will have been a higher number if not, the humans have been so stubborn not to leave their home because a stranger who told them to leave this beautiful place.   
He has already decided not to let the human know he was an angel. It would put him in neck-deep trouble with the other angels if they knew he was messing with the ineffable plan. 

It was mentally draining for the angel to convince so many people to follow him without using magic, but he did not feel like he has time to relax just yet.

There was still a lot of humans in the area. 

Aziraphale quickly walked over to a new area in the hope of finding a new family he could save when he saw a shadow of something big flying in the air. He looked up, and to his shock, he saw a demon(not Crawly, that's for sure) with midnight plume, come flying with an unconscious human in their arms. 

Gaping at the sight, he quickly found a dark alley where he could turn back to his original form, and he took flight after the demon. 

“Hey, you! >b/b<” he yelled after the unknown demon. The demon turned around in midair. Glaring at him,   
“what the Hell are you doing, demon?” Aziraphale demanded

“None of you darn business, chicken wing,” the demon said with a malicious smirk. 

“Chicken wi- how >b/bb/b< on the ground again!”

“Make me,” the demon laughed even more before Aziraphale could do much more than move close to the demon. Another angel with grey-golden wings come crashing into the annoying demon. The demon let go of the human it was holding(Aziraphale snapped his fingers quickly, and a portal opened up under them, sending the poor human to a town Aziraphale once visited) and turned its attention to the other angel who has already lifted their weapon to strike them again. The demon made the smart move and blitzed away.   
The other angel looked a bit disappointed at the retreat and looked at Aziraphale.

“Sandalphon? Oh, thank God you were here t-”

“What are you doing here?” Sandalphon demanded

“I am trying to help-” 

“You are not ordered to be here,” he cut him off. It was clear he did not want to chat with Aziraphale. He opened a portal and pointed at him, “go back to Heaven.” 

“What about the demons? They are doing something with the humans?” Aziraphale asked, desperately. He did not move towards the open portal. 

“Let them. They are all going to die anyway,” Sandalphon said bored. He must have seen another demon and his fighting spirit returned by full force “go back to Heaven. You are clearly not fit for battle with demons.”

With those words, he too blitzed away from Aziraphale.   
Aziraphale looked desperately from the portal to the town below him.   
He got his order to got back.  
But.  
His morale told him to stay.

“Oh dear, oh-oh dear,” Aziraphale keeps muttering to himself. He didn't know what to do with himself at the moment. He saw another demon with black-red wings came flying, and he made his choice to stop them “You! Stop!” 

The new demon(who used to be a Cherubim due to they have four wings) kept flying, and Aziraphale was forced to follow them. They looked confused at him when he came up beside them.  
“Who the Heaven are you suppose to be?” they asked with the odd look Aziraphale have gotten used to Angels were giving him. 

“I am Aziraphale, former Guardian of the Eastern Gate” he presented himself in the hope to look and sound like a treat. The demon finally stopped in the air to look better at him, and Aziraphale saw they were holding a crying human child in their arms “what are you doing with the humans?”

“None of your concern,” they said simply. Aziraphale harden his look and spread his wings full out to show the demon they should not mess with him(like the first demon did), unfortunate it has the opposite effect. The demon felt threaten and snarled at him, ready to attack.   
“>b/b<”

Before Aziraphale could give them a very prissy answer; a new voice was heard;

“Get away from him! He's >b/b<” 

Aziraphale was rammed into by a third demon, and both of them fall to the ground in a battle of wings and arms. Both of them landed hard in a water fountain inside the city. The human nearby ran, screaming away from the two fighting immortals.

Wet by the dirty water of the fountain, hurt by the fall and fueled with resentment. Aziraphale kicked the attacking demon hard in the chest to get them off him.   
The attacking demon yelped in pain.

“Get off of me! You wicked foul-”

“Aziraphale! It's me!”

“....Crawly?” Aziraphale blinked confused. He took a better look at the demon and saw it was Crawly. He probably didn't reorganize him due to the fact he was wearing armor. The demon was close to saying something, but Aziraphale really wanted an answer right now!  
“what the >b/b< is going on? Why are there so many demons out there?”

“Because of me! I suggested all of this,” Crawly quickly said. He could surely feel he was in a bad mood surely because Aziraphale kicked him in the chest pretty hard. 

“You did? How?”

“No time to give you the whole story, but this-” both of them fall into the water again when a major earthquake happened. Both watched in horror then the ground began to crack  
“oh shit!” the demon shouted in horror

“Crawly!” Aziraphale cried. He watched in horror when some unfortunate humans got hit by a whole building, and the screams for still living were heard over the creaking of the earth “the whole place is breaking apart!”

“I can see that!” Crawly yelled. The demon grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the water fountain. Which got swallowed by the ground a few seconds after “we need to leave, >b/b<”

“What about the hum-”

“it's too late. We did what we could!” half a building crashed a hair away from both of them. Making Crawly materialized his wings, “fly!” He yelled at Aziraphale 

A loud rumble was heard, and both of them turned their head to the right and saw the nearby hill releasing layers upon layers of mud, dirt, and flora onto the unfortunate town. The landslide was so big that the last remaining of the town would disappear in layers of dirt and mud.   
The angel felt his body freeze up in a panic when he saw the tsunami of dirt come crashing towards them. Crawly, most have seen the chock in his eyes and pushed his three of his fingers between Aziraphale shoulder blades where his hidden wings were located. Aziraphale brain reacted immaterially to the pressure, and his wings suddenly materialized.  
With his wings out, his survival instinct kicked in, and he shoots up in the air with Crawly right behind him. 

“Don't look back, Angel! Just fly! Leave this death trap now!” Crawly yelled behind him. 

Feeling a small sense of Deja vu, The angel didn't look back and kept flying up in the air, where he opened a portal back to Heaven.   
He literally stumbled out of the portal and lay on the World tree covered in dust, dirt, mud, and human blood.   
All of his eyes were wide as a saucer, and his magic made small spark out of the adrenaline which ran through his body.   
Aziraphale was not sure how long he lay on the ground and tried to stop repeating the screams of dying humans and the rumble of a terrifying earthquake in his mind. 

“Aziraphale?” he opened his eyes and quickly come up on his feet when he saw Gabriel frowning at him. The Seraphim were also covered in blood. It was golden “I was not aware you were told to be on this mission.”

“S-slipped my mind to t-tell you. My m-mistake” Aziraphale apologized quickly, He was still high on adrenaline and prayed mentally that it was not Crawly's blood Gabriel had on him “was n-not to much of a help either. A-a demon ambushed me.”

“Did you kill them?” Sandalphon asked while he came walking towards them. It was sickening how much red and golden blood he had on him.

“No! I mean-” Aziraphale took a deep breath to calm himself down, “he got away before I could do much damage on him.”

“You will get your revenge on them the next time you see them” Gabriel smiled and gave him a 'friendly' clap on his shoulder. 

“Sure,” Aziraphale said and tried to smile, but it came more off as a wince. The two Seraphim walked away, and Aziraphale could feel on himself that he needed a bath to get all of this grime off him and forget the horror he just witnesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did my research and archaeologist do think that Sodom and the other cities might have existed once. of course, the cities were not destroyed by God or a meteor or something coming from the sky.  
> I decided to go with earthquakes and dangerous mudslide of the mountains. I didn't go with a volcano eruption since they are far easier to dig evidence up if they happened.  
> of course, there is no real proof that these unknown cities in the middle east where destroyed at all but I am making a story about an Angel and a Demon so take what I write with a ton of salt and then we're good.


	15. Holiness and Corruption of Heaven and Hell

Around 25 to 30 years later, after the destruction of Sodom and the other towns(only one town survived the earthquake, the rest of the towns have literally been sunken underground), Aziraphale was again walking with a bunch of humans traveling in a caravan. The angel has taken his time to look like a common traveler with his outfit and made sure all the camels liked him enough to there was no need to 'steer' the animal. He was one of the travelers in the back when suddenly his camel got a bit nervous by something.   
Aziraphale looked around to see what spooked the poor animal when he saw Crawly came hovering down and landed on the nervous camel. No humans notice him coming, and he watched Crawly hiding his wings before any humans saw them.

“Following the humans again, I see,” Crawly said with a carefree tone. He moved a bit around on the animal. Possible to get a better sitting position “found out they are a descendant?”

“I think they are. Heaven is very interested in this family,” he said. Feeling pity for the demon, he miracle an extra blanket and gave it to him, so he didn't have to sit directly on the camel. He knew how difficult it was to get the smell out, “you should have seen all the commotion there was when Isaac was still a boy. Nearly gotten killed by his own father.”

“Why in Heaven's name would he try to kill his own son?” Crawly accepted the blanket with an astonishing frown “something to do with your lot?”

“Sort off, Abraham thought God told him to sacrifice his poor boy to show his loyalty to the Almighty.”

“If She tells you to jump...” the demon trailed off. Aziraphale really didn't like that analog, and if he has his wings out, he would have ruffled them in dismay. Instead, he shook his shoulder. 

“Zadkiel stopped him in the last second,” he told eagerly to Crawly. Zadkiel was another Cherubim in the rank of Dominions and the one who has trained Aziraphale in combat. He has heard stories she followed Micheal in battle under the Rebellion “I think I saw her have a spark to See. Wouldn't it be exciting if there were more angels who can See like us?” 

“Mhm” 

“We will not be alone anymore. I might be able to talk to her. Convince her to find the truth-”

“Just be careful, you know how well it went last time.”

“Don't worry, I will be careful as ever before” Aziraphale said in a cheerful tone to avoid talking about Crawly's fall. He notice the demon were very silent around this topic of conversation, he decided to change the topic “heard some demons were around the mock sacrifice.”

“Azazel and Mastema,” Crawly quickly said. Crawling a bit closer to him, he told the next part like it was a big secret “what I heard from the shadows. Mastema was the one who told that old guy to kill his son because God told him so.” 

“What an awful demon.”

“Do there exist another kind?” Crawly snaked

“Well....” Aziraphale gave him an eloquent look. Both of them stared at each other until Aziraphale broke the contact. He turned his head away from the demon and asked: “what did that Azazel fellow do?”

To the angel's surprise; Crawly laughed;  
“Get this; he was dumb enough to mock the old guy in his ugly bird form when ended up killing some poor animal instead” he made a mocking gesture of a bird in flight with his hands. “one of your guys ended up giving him one Heaven of a beating.” 

“That would be Yahoel. Saw them walking with Zadkiel when they came back to Heaven,” Aziraphale told. Yahoel were an Authorities, and every time Aziraphale looked at them, they remind him of the Northern lights “one scary angel if you ask me. Took down a Leviathan once”

“Big buggers. Bloody terrifying, too,” Crawly drawled and flopped down on the still nervous camel. He looked like a hunting trophy laying like that. Aziraphale has enough empathy not to tell him that “make me understand why so many humans are scared for the ocean.”

“You are scared of the ocean?”

“Do I look like a Platypus to you? I am a snake! Snakes can't swim.” 

“I am sure they can. Sea serpents do swim.”

“I am a **serpent** , not a water-blowing sea monster” Crawly snaked, “why swim when you can fly?”  
Aziraphale only rolled his eyes playfully at the demon. It was terrible how easy it was to speak with him. 

They sat in a conformable silence while the caravan kept moving in the scrub of the country. They ended up making some small-talk about what they have been doing the years they were on their own. It was honestly nothing to brag about.   
The caravan of the family Aziraphale was following stopped up a small town to get water to the camels and food to themselves. The two Natoque decided to go to a bar nearby to get something to drink and (only the angel did) eat. Aziraphale could barely contain a wriggle over how happy he was that the demon indulges him in these silly moments they have together. He was happy Crawly even wanted to be around him. Not many of the other angels wanted that, and humans were fun to be around, but he couldn't really talk to them like he could with the demon.  
They both got their drink, and while Aziraphale kept an eye on the family he was following he suddenly remembered something;

“Speaking of flying, how did you do that with my wings?” 

“Do what with you, who?” Crawly asked, confused. Aziraphale raised an eyebrow at his word jumble. 

“My wings,” he explained, “you did something to my back, and my wings materialized without meaning to.”

“Oh, that!” Crawly exclaimed, “I ehm... “  
he suddenly looked inside his mug like it was the most interesting thing he has ever seen and mumble something incoherence.

“I'm sorry. I didn't get that,” Aziraphale said and tipped his head a little. The demon mumbled something again a bit louder and refused to look at him “a bit louder, please.”

“I said I found out by accident!” Crawly finally said, annoyed. The humans around them looked shocked at them both when the demon smacked his mug hard onto the table in his outburst. Aziraphale made sure they could not hear what they were saying with a little miracle   
“scratched my back, and then my bloody wings popped out and wracked another demon in the bloody face.”

“Did they-?”

“Get upset at me? Understatement of the bloody year!” he grumbled and nearly swallowed his mug while drinking his last wine, “have to turn into a small snake to get out of that pickle.”

“Pickle? Isn't that food? Never tasted one of those yet.” 

“Is a manner of speaking, Angel. blessed inconvenience if you ask me.”

“Not always. I would have been hurt if you didn't do it to me,” Aziraphale said genuinely. Crawly just made a face “it was like my body froze up for a second if you haven't been there...” 

“You would have survived it. We are pretty resistant,” he waved him off. 

Aziraphale has his doubt. He was not sure how resistance he was compared to the other Natoque. His wings could not do any damage like he has seen other Angels were able to, and he was quicker to flinch away when he was hit or hurt by others.   
Aziraphale was not even sure he could win a battle against a demon. That one time, he manages to overpowered Crawly did not count in Aziraphale's mind. Both of them were emotionally damaged at the time, and he was pretty sure he could never harm the demon due to him blessing him with an Angel kiss(a thing he would never dare tell Crawly) and because;

' I simply care too much for that wily serpent,' he thought and took a sip of his wine. He has tasted better wine than this; he was currently drinking.  
Even though Crawly was not Raphael anymore. Aziraphale was still afraid for Raphael and keep telling himself that the former angel and his current friend were not the ones and the same was far easier than to think about the truth.

There was a deeply ironic and double standard if the angel has thought about it deep enough.

Looking towards Isaac's family, he saw they were about to travel again, and the angel took the last of his drink, paid for it(he also paid for this round of Crawly's drink), and stood up to follow the humans. 

“You are going already?” Crawly asked. He looked disappointed. The angel has a feeling it was just his own wishful thinking.

“Yes, I have to follow them. But I think I keep my distance, they most have enough with angels for a lifetime.” 

“Ah, well... I was told to go back to Hell because of some paperwork, I will see you around?”

Aziraphale gave him a hopeful smile. He was always happy to see the demon. He did begin to see him as a very dear friend.  
“Of course.” 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It would be near 40 years later(he counted) before Crawly saw the angel again. Hell has sent him on multiple assignments both on Earth and Anuvina, and before he knew it, decades have run past him.   
He manages to get a small assignment in the middle east, where he knew the angel was last he saw him.

It took him over three years of searching for the angel. He ending up fleeing from an angel named Sariel (who have messed around with someone named Jacob with a dream he once had, from what the demon managed to overhear), before he found Aziraphale again. 

He was just about to greet that lovely angel when he realized Aziraphale was not alone.   
Aziraphale was standing with Micheal and... Samael?

Not sure what was going on, Crawly slowly walked over to his boss but kept his eyes on Aziraphale who's eyes locked with him for a second and then did everything in his power to avoid looking at him afterward.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Samael took his eyes away from Micheal who was glaring at something behind him and saw his underling Crawly crawl towards him. As always they have that annoyingly saunter they have gotten for around 1000 years ago. 

“Ah Crawly, what a pleasant surprise,” Samael said with a smile that showed more teeth than a smile. The only reason why he hasn't chained that weakling up in the darkest pits of Hell is that having a Seeing demon on Earth has proven to be an advantage for Hell. Crawly looked at him like they were going to their own executions, and they walked slowly up beside him. Samael noticed that Crawly was close enough to him to be respectful but far enough away so Samael could not grab him if he suddenly felt like to snap the weakling's neck. 

'Smart move'

Samael looked calmly back at Michael “looks like we made the battle more equal now, eh old friend?”

“We were never friends,” Micheal said harshly, which were the truth. the word friends were made by the mortals and Samael only used it against the Crusader angel for the mocking effect fault. Under the rebellion; both of them have managed to give each other scars. Samael was still proud that he gave Micheal scars there were hard to hide, unlike his own. Samael did notice that Micheal already have their sword out there was glowing like magma. 

“Siblings then,” Samael said mocking while waved them carefree off “anyway, I am here for my pound of flesh in the form of that human you lot have shown interest in.” 

“Our duty is to guide him on the right path,” Micheal said simply. Samael knew that they were only here due to their duty. Like Samael himself; Micheal much didn't care what happened to the human named Jacob after all of this was done. 

“Hm, is that all?” Samael said with a bored tone, he began to walk forth and back in the hope he could taunt the angels. as far as he could see; only Micheal was a threat to him. “it is destined that a Natoque shall fight with this man and give him a new name for what this land” he gestured to the area around them “will gain a similar name.”

“A duty belonging to the Angels,” the underling angel said to him. Samael only first now took a better look at the underling. They did not look like the rest of them and they looked, even more, weaker than Crawly. Samael could not help but snort in amusement that Heaven decided to keep that little reject in their ranks. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Crawly move restlessly for some reason. Samael guess that his underling have some history with this angel and he decided to make a mental note to ask his underling about that later   
“We can't have demons deciding a name for-”

“Be quiet, little angel. Best not to speak when the big boys are,” Samael cuts them off honey-sweet, but he would have ripped that white reject to tiny pieces if not they were using Micheal as a shield. the reject paled a little but did not look away from him.

'oh? reject is a rebel one? how amusing'  
  
Samael took a single step closer to the angels but kept his distance due to Micheal's flaming sword. He practically ignored Micheal and looked intensely at the uncomfortable reject. 

“Although, you are a very interesting little one,” Samael said while he looked closer at the reject's eyes and saw it; the reject could see. 

' do Micheal know about this?' he looked at Micheal who did not move closer to protect the reject from him 'no, they are unaware. so why do they keep it around?' 

He noted that the reject looked more human and he has to hold back a snarl when he realized that the reject is a surviving member of the pods he has ordered destroyed. He has attacked Heaven at that time when he heard that God was trying to make new types of angels who were apparently 'better' than the rest of them. 

by looking at the reject, he nearly laughed over he felt threatened by the new batch of angels. if this how God's new angels should look like, then there has never been a reason to feel threatened in the first place. 

Samael still wanted the reject dead out of pure principle. 

“We both know you can't defeat me, Micheal. You needed help from that meathead Sandalphon before I fall from Grace” Samael said to the other Seraphim while he looked at the reject with a confident smirk, “and I don't think you little helper is much of a help in this case.”

“B-but you have a weakness now,” The reject said and took a brave step towards him. Samael could not stop himself from smirking mockingly at the angel, what in the world could a weakling do to him? Beg him to go?  
He noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Crawly where moving uncomfortably on the spot. something about the angel made his underling tense and that concerned him a little   
“giving by God's Holy fire” the reject finish. 

“Everyone who was struck down with a Holy weapon, now bear the mark of impureness” Micheal explained while they looked past Samael and probably at Crawly, “you and your little snake will die by everything Holy.”

Samael saw the reject send a look to Crawly which nearly made the snake bolt. Samael knew the snake will stay in his place because Samael did not allow them to leave. but Samael did begin to wonder how strong the reject really is since it only has to look at Crawly to make them scared. 

Samael looked at the two angels and noticed that it was only Micheal who has a weapon. The reject was defenseless but then again; so was Crawly. He looked back at Crawly; they did have claws, fangs, and also poisonous fangs since Samael made sure all of his snake demons have that. He was sure Crawly could take down the reject who he also noted did not have any claws or visible fangs.   
The largest threat was Micheal but he has fought against them before and only lost that battle because Sandalphon intertwines, he was confident he could win this battle. 

“I take my chances,” Samael said with a confident snarl and went down in a battle position., “I have been stabbed before of your weapon, so I am sure I can survive that pain again and there is no water around us.”

Micheal also went into a battle position. 

“Rain clouds are coming,” the reject interrupted with a small smirk of his own “that will do.”

Both demons looked up to see rain clouds coming towards them. Samael didn't know if the angels could make rain into Holy water, but the risk was possible. Micheal took a step toward Samael, so they stood nose to nose. Both of them were showing teeth at each other. 

“Go, foul demons. My duty is not you, but I will smite you off of this plane if you disrupt the plan God has giving me,” Micheal growled. Their grip on the sword got tighter. Samael refused to back down for a long time and he would rather leave a new and fatal wound on his nemesis than to show weakness, but he was also smart enough to know that he could not rule Hell with him dead. 

Samael slowly backed down but did not let his eyes away from Micheal. 

“Crawly, we're leaving,” He called to the snake who nearly bolted away from the two angels, Samael made a mental note about this scared behavior. Before he walked away himself he looked at the reject with the delighted thought about how its death would be “I will see you later, little angel.” 

Crawly quickly opened up a portal back to Hell for Samael, who patted him on the head like the pet he was. Crawly didn't move while Samael was still touching them but did the second his hand left the snake they followed him.  
Back in Hell, they were just about to walk away from him when Samael stopped them by laying a hand on their shoulder. 

“Kill the white reject,” Samael told Crawly.  
Crawly froze up but did not do anything offensive towards Samael so he let it slide for now. 

“My Lord?” Crawly asked with wide eyes. Samael could really not see why the snake was so scared of the reject. 

“The white one can See” Samael explained, “they do not look like the fighting type to me and one freak in my Horde is more than enough”  
He clapped Crawly with an amused smirk. The snake did not react to his insult. 

“He is stronger than he looks like, my Lord. He nearly killed me last time I fought him” Crawly said. 

“then find his weakness, Snake. Tempt him for all I care.” Samael said annoyed. He grabbed Crawly's jaw forcefully and made them look into his face. “Natoque with the Sights does not belong to Heaven. They belong to me and those who are too weak for my Horde. well... better to end their misery lives then”

“O-of course, my Lord.” Crawly said quickly. probably fearing for his life. Samael smiled sweetly at him before letting go of him. For good measure, he patted Crawly's cheek before walking back to his personal chamber. He have better things to do than to babysit Crawly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I found this information about the angel Zadkiel that they are a leader like Gabriel(no idea to what, maybe in battle or helping Gabe in his assignments?), they followed Micheal in battle against the fallen and they are the angel who God sends down to stop Abraham in the last second before he kills his own son. 
> 
> \- if I remember right. Azazel is seen in a book called "Apocalypse of Abraham", where he is the 'devil' or something like that. I didn't read all of this since I was really not up for that. he is also sometimes seen as the Serpent of Hell. I might play around that idea later.
> 
> \- Mastema is one of those demons I am not fully sure they are evil or not. some text stats he 'mocks' God and other places say he 'stand-in' for God. I also found some text there said he is a Nephilim. not sure I will make him that.
> 
> \- Yahoel is also mention in the Apocalypse of Abraham. he is pretty much a Guardian angel to Abraham for what I can get out of the text.


	16. Children of God.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bit of a miscalculated step by my part on how many chapters it is left. it did say that this was the second last chapter but that is not true. there is still some left.

Aziraphale didn't see Crawly for centuries. The angel was told to return back to Heaven for some of the time, and when he came back, he was not sure where the demon was anymore.   
After at least two centuries have passed, and Aziraphale was more lonely than he has ever been in his long life.   
To his surprise, he found out bypassing that Crawly was hanging around Egypt for some reason.

Aziraphale has been in Egypt from time to time, like a few other angels he knew off. He was never personalized as a 'God' in their culture as some other creatures or Natoque have been, but he did hear from the Grapevines that Egypt has more than one Snake deity they worshiped.

One of them or all of them could be Crawly personalized by the Egyptians. 

The angel decided to lay low in the great kingdom by the Nile when he got there. Just because he was not sure he was allowed to be there in the first place or how many other angels were in the area. 

With a quick flick of his wrist, he opened a portal to Egypt. 

-

In Egypt, Aziraphale quickly personalized himself as a slave and took some old ragged rope over his head. Many Egyptians already knew that fair-skinned slaves burned quicker in the sun and probably thought they were punished by the Sun God himself. Aziraphale was pretty sure that God was not angry at him, but he still tried to hide his face in the crowd.   
While 'working' like the rest of the slaves, he looked up at some of the statues and paintings of different deities of Egypt.

Some of them he noticed where either animals or humans with an animal head. He already knew from his last visit that many of those paintings were of sentient beings from Anuvina who were called Animalius and were pretty much smart animals who could walk on two legs. 

He had the 'joy' in meeting Sekhmet and Set. 

He heard some of the people around him begin to turn either frighten or excited, he looked around to see what the commotion was about, and then he saw it;

Another Animalius; this one, looked like a Markhor ram, except it looked like it has cuts their hair shorter to avoid getting a heat stroke. They bore jewelry(surely giving to them by the higher class of the people here) and was currently standing on two legs.   
They were looking at the working people for a moment(the Egyptians worker prayed it loudly) before they went down on four legs again and walked away.   
Aziraphale took his change to disappear by quickly finding a hidden spot, and then he blitzed himself up to the place where he last saw the Ram 'god'. He made sure to stay hidden all the time.   
He was glad to see that the Animalius was not walking too far away from him.

“ _Excuse me_ ” he called after the Ram in Egyptian. The Ram swiped around to look at him, but they did not look like they understood him. Aziraphale tried to switch over to the common language of Anuvina, which he learned a few decades ago just because he thought it would be best to be on the safe side.  
“ _Excuse me, do you understand me?_ ”

“ _You speak Dragon tongue,_ ” the Animalius said with a relieved frown. “ _I have not heard that in forever._ ”

“ _Oh, thank God you understand me. For a second, I was afraid you didn't know it,_ ” Aziraphale said. He remembered his manner and did the universal greeting on Anuvina. 

“ _We learned it by the Lung,_ ” the Ram said and made their own greeting “ _you are trapped here too?_ ”

“ _Ah, no, no. I come here on my own,_ ” Aziraphale quickly explained. He gestured to the Ram to follow him, away from humans' eyes, “ _have you seen anyone who is worshiped like you are but this person has the eyes like a snake?_ ”

“ _That is what they are doing? They think me as a Royal?_ ”

“ _You can say that._ ”  
the angel knew the Animalius has a VERY complicated history around royalty and each other, so he didn't want to say too much about the matter.

“ _I have seen a black snake hanging around the Nile. They are not like those other powerful beings. She is one of the only in this terrible hot lands who can speak like us._ ”

“ _Us? How many of you have walked through a stray portal?_ ”

“ _Small pack,_ ” the Ram muttered. Aziraphale made a mental note to help them home after he has found out what Crawly was doing “ _the snake told us that she would take us home after a deed is done._ ”

'Oh, nevermind.'

“ _What deed?_ ” he asked.

“ _Something about showing off some power or some muck_ ” Ram shrugged “ _didn't really listen_ ”

“ _Of course. Can you show me where you last saw the snake?_ ”

“ _Sure. Try to keep up. Flat foot_ ” Ram smirked and jumped agile up at some rubble. They turned around to look at him with a very confident smirk.

“ _Oh, that would not be any problem_ ” Aziraphale smiled, and he used his magic to make some holes in his robe so his wings could appear. He spread them out in their full glory and fly up to the Ram.

“ _You are an Aesir!? I thought you were a myth_ ” They gasped and came up on two legs to look awestruck at his wings  
Aziraphale shrugged and make a friendly gesture “ _after you._ ” 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The ram leads him outside the city and over to a place there was hidden from humans' eyes. They didn't follow him all the way since water and mud were not their favorite thing to get on their hooves. Aziraphale thanked them before they left him alone to find his friend.

“Crawly?” he gently called while walking inside the rush near the Nile. He saw a silhouette of something, and he walked over to see what it was. 

It was a giant scale that was still attached to its owner. He flew over the scales to find the head of the giant creature.   
“Crawly?” he called again, a bit higher this time. He was still not sure these giants were his friend or some other giant snake.   
The big body of the snake finally moved and began to surround the angel. He was not scared of being choke. His blitzing would make sure of that. 

The head of the snake finally appeared hovering over the rest of the body.   
The snake's eyes were golden.

“Hello Crawly” Aziraphale smiled at the snake “I didn't know you could turn this big” 

“Our Abyssal formssss are normally bigger,” Snake Crawly hissed.   
Aziraphale didn't say anything about his lips. There was a reason why Natoque rarely talks in their secondary forms. 

“Abyssal?” 

“Can't call it Csselessstial anymore.”

“Oh... right,” Aziraphale blushed embarrassed, he watched how the giant snake turned smaller and smaller until it turned into Crawly again. The demon was wearing female attire with a lot of jewelry of gold. A nice nod to her eyes. Aziraphale also notices that a lot of the gold have the motive after a snake.   
“Crawly, what are you doing here?” 

“Doing an Asss-” Crawly made a face and tried again “assignment” her eyes looked concerned at him for some reason “I don't think you should be here, I'm not the only demon in the area and-” she stopped herself and gave him a confused look “what **are** you doing here?”

“Come to see what you were doing” Aziraphale smiled and gave him an obliviously look. 

“Me?” Crawly looked taken aback

“Of course,” he said genuine and took a step closer to the demon. Aziraphale knew it was stupid, and there was no way Crawly felt the same, but he yearned for the demon's attention. No matter how little it was. Just being near him was enough.  
“I missed you.”

“Ngk,” Crawly looked away from him. Aziraphale has a feeling the demon was uncomfortable by his plain affections, so he decided to change the subject.

“I like your clothing, very graceful.” 

“mhp,” she said incoherence. She slowly gave him a little bashful look, “... you look good too.”

“Me? You can't be serious. These clothing are terrible! I look like a burned blanket,” Aziraphale laughed friendly. Crawly chuckle a little with him “probably smell like one too” 

“You don't,” Crawly said. She looked shocked at her own word and looked like she was ready to nose-dive into the Nile to get away from the situations. Feeling brave over her words, Aziraphale quickly took a hold on her clothing to stop her.

“That is kind of you to say,” Aziraphale said with a hopeful smile. Crawly looked offended at him when he said the word 'Kind.' His little hope flickered out, but he was still glad to see that Crawly was not trying to flee anymore “it is! But we both know that these robes are not made for fashion.”

Crawly's eyes run up and down for a little moment before she looked away and asked;  
“When did you get here?”

“A day ago,” Aziraphale said, “found an abandoned room at the lower part of-”

“Wait. You live with the slaves?” Crawly looked back at him with wide serpentine eyes. 

“Technical I am living beside the commoner,” Aziraphale said primly. “I honestly dislike the idea of owning another being, but I cannot hide in the Pharaoh's court due to my appearance.” 

“Yeah, you are quite noticeable,” Crawly chuckled. Both of them were feeling something for the other, but neither of them was a mind reader, and both of them were kinda idiots to read each other's feelings, so the situations made the company more and more awkward. Finally, Crawly said, “you, eh... better get going.”

“Right, well, I will,” Aziraphale said. Feeling both relieved and saddened at the same time. He turned around to walked away, but he looked over his shoulders to see Crawly still standing, looking after him. “I will see you later?”

Crawly made an incoherence sound which a hopeful Aziraphale took as a 'Yes.'

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Planet Earth**

**year 1500 bc**

**Egypt**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly was sitting in one of the temples built to the Gods. He knew it was kinda cheap to personalize one of the Gods the Egyptian people believed in but honesty; all Gods did that. He has seen Her even do it by taking a form of a Great White Stag on Anuvina. On Earth, he has heard her on a bunch of names like in Africa, She was known under the name of Aja or Osanyin.   
In Europe, she was known as Medeina, Abnoba, Druantia. Tapio  
In Greece he was sure She has taken the names; Demeter, Gaia, and Horae.

And those were just the ones he knew off. 

Crawly looked down as saw 'Khnum' come walking into the temple. That was, of course, not his real name, which was actually Brooks. Khnum was something the humans called the Ram.   
A lot of beings of Anuvina or Quatos ended up as Gods or mythological beings on Earth. That was how the Unicorn came to after all. Even the dragons or griffins.   
They were simple sentient beings who were unlucky enough to go into a stray portal that took them to this place.   
Brooks should feel lucky he ended up in Egypt and not in Greece, where the humans would probably have killed him and called him an evil Satyr-Faun-whatever. 

“ _Hey Serpent got anything to drink; I am dying here,_ ” Brooks said in his own tongue. Crawly didn't mind to be called 'serpent' by him. It was part of Brooks's culture to call others by their species' names if they can't pronounce, remember, or don't bother to learn the name on the other species. Crawly have the feeling that Brooks lay in the last category. 

“ _I have wine,_ ” he held up a just of wine to the Ram. Crawly understood him perfectly. Unlike the other demons, Crawly actually took the time to learn other languages there were not linked to sins. He liked to be able to keep a conversation with other beings.   
Brooks went up on two legs and took the jug from him and pour the content in a small bowl. Animalius were not able to drink from mugs.   
  
“ _Better than nothing,_ ” the Ram said and swallow at least four bowls of wine within a minute “ _much better. Did that Aesir find you?_ ”

“ _Yep,_ ” Crawly popped the 'P' and took the jug back to drink some more of it before Brooks took all of it. He knew that Natoque was called that on Anuvina, so he didn't question why the Natoque was named something else. On Earth, they were just called Angels or Demons. They didn't have a direct species name on this planet. 

“ _Thought they were only a myth. Guess I was wrong,_ ” the Ram mutter. He scratched his throat, thoughtfully “ _very pretty one. Remind me of a Fionn._ ”

a Fionn was Anuvina's version of a swan. Crawly learned that the funny way.

“ _Mhm_ ” the demon in disguise mumbled and barely hold a blush back. He nearly broke the last time he saw the angel. How much he wanted to hold Aziraphale and tell him to stay with him to the end of days. But he was scared to get too close to the angel lately due to the command Samael gave him decades ago. Just the thought of making his friend fall and into Satan's murderous hand made him sick. 

Brooks didn't look like he notices his blushing (which he was thankful for), and it also looked like he nearly empties the jug. With a blink with his serpentine eyes. The jug fills itself up without the Ram's notice. He didn't want the poor being die of thirst.   
Crawly felt something evil in the air and took an extra flick of his tongue to smell better who gave up the evil.

Too strong to be a mortal.   
He sighed. He has a feeling who it was  
“ _Osiris is coming,_ ” he said to Brooks, who was beginning to look a little tipsy. 

“ _Oh, the dead fish,_ ” the Ram laughed at his own joke. Crawly could not stop smirking at that either. Brooks stood up(a bit wobbly, but were able to stand due having four legs)and smelled the air too just to be sure it was 'Osiris.' The grimace in the Ram's face told everything, “ _I am going to leave until he is gone, my instincts tell me to stay away from that guy._ ”

“ _What am I then to you? A slap of meat?_ ” Crawly questioned after the leaving Brooks. The Animalius half turned to look at him.  
Really look at him with so much of a serious face a Ram could do. 

“ _You are a good being. You don't treat me as a mindless animal,_ ” Brooks said. Crawly hissed at that. He still didn't feel like he deserved those words Brooks(or Aziraphale) said to him. Demons were unforgivable after all, and he did use to think the same as the other Natoque's. Brooks moved. He must have heard something and said quick “ _call when the coast is clear_ ” before leaving in a hurry.

Crawly could not blame Brooks for leaving. He would have done the same if not 'Osiris' were his co-worker. His name was Dumah(he never change it after his fall), and he used to be one of the Death angels of the Cherubim Thrones rank before casting out. The other demon was in male clothing and had greenish moldy spots on his skin. It made him look as rotten as his lost Grace. Dumah was a good example that the bodies of the demons were beginning to change into something rotten the more they lost was they once were.   
Crawly and a handful of other demons still kept their angelic appearance. The only thing they're really was 'demonic' with Crawly were his eyes, scales on parts of his body and blacken wings. The rest was something there also could be seen on the angels.

“Hail Satan, our savior,” Dumah said and spread his once invisible gray wings out. Crawly always thought they looked like ash or rotten paper. 

“Hail Satan,” he said halfhearted back. He was not dumb enough to say out loud that he did not think Samael as their savior. He lifted the jug of wine up in an attempt to be 'friendly' to his co-worker “wine?” 

Dumah glared at him like he just tried to give him a jug of dead snails. 

“Right” Crawly lowered the jug and pour himself a good among of wine.

' Death fish indeed,' he thought sourly while drinking. 

“Those mindless have been in here again, I can smell their stench” Dumah sneered “you shall stop being around them.”

' better them than you, Dumah' another thought there should never be said out loud. He was not keen on losing another set of wings.   
He instead said;

“Need them to the big plan. Easier to let them get comfortable around you than scare them.”

“You are slacking.”

“The heat makes me drowsy” Crawly lied easily. The heat made him more active. Dumah kept glaring at him with his ash-gray eyes, and Crawly was really not in the mood to be around the other demon. He took the jug of wine and walked past Dumah's “good talk. I think I'm going out to do some small tempting.”

“Crawly” Dumah called after him when he was just about to leave the temple. With an annoyed(quite) sigh, he turned around to look at the former Death angel “if you see any newborn children tonight. Kill them” Crawly heard the jug smash on the floor. Both demons ignored it for two different reasons “Satan wants them dead.”

“Kids?” Crawly croaked 

“Yes, one the newborn tonight will grow up to be an influence on the humans,” Dumah said with a wide evil smirk “they will all die tonight.”

“Right, well... I will... get to it,” Crawly mumbled and nearly bailed out of the temple. He blitzed just to be sure he got as far away from the other demon as possible. 

He walked in the outskirts of the city in the hope he will not meet any humans or even get near enough to a house to accidentally hear a newborn.   
  
“Kids... why is it always kids” he grumbled to himself. He ruffles his wings in dismay. He really didn't bother to hide them so far away from civilization. Crawly, like all other Natoque, were able to see in the dark. He knew now it was possible giving to his species to make them more able to find criminal for their original creators “I can't kill kids, that is just not-hello?” he saw a silhouette of someone leaving the area in a hurry. He was about to call after the fleeing person when a basket floating in the Nile began to make some noises. 

Curiosity got the better of the demon, and he walked in the Nile to grab the basket.

“What do we have here?” he hummed and opened the basket only to be met with a half-sleeping human newborn. Shocked and very annoyed by his luck, he looked up to the starry sky  
“for Satan's sake! Can't you give me a break?” the stars blinked innocently at him. He was pretty sure someone was laughing at him up there. He looked back at the newborn in the basket   
“You just have to be in the area, huh, kid?”

The brown-haired baby looked pretty healthy and was not sure why they were left out here. He looked at his own claws like they could tell them what to do “kill a kid. I know I am a demon but this-”  
he made some very dramatic gestures towards the baby and looked desperately up to the sky again.

“I know you don't want to listen to a demon anymore, but can you at least tell me what I should do... I don't want to kill kids,” he begged to Her. Crawly never stopped to have his true loyalty to Her. It was not Her after all, there cast him out. The stars just blinked calmly back at him. He groaned in desperation “pleeeeaaassse, just give me a-”

“Crawly?” he wiped around(nearly dropping the basket in the process) and saw Aziraphale standing on the shore. Clearly confused, “what are you doing in knee-high water in the middle of the night?”

“Angel, I-” Crawly looked at the stars again with surprise then back at the angel again. He was not sure if it was Her or someone else who heard his cry for help, or this was just a coincidence. He decided just to take it “weeeell, I jussst... here.” 

He held the basket out and showed the content to the angel.

“A human newborn?” Aziraphale said, surprised. He gently took the baby out of the basket and hold them. The baby was not happy to be disturbed in their sleep and began to be a bit fussy, but Aziraphale just shushed them gently(with a hint of magic in the air), and the baby falls asleep again. The angel looked at Crawly with a serious look, “where are the parents?”

“No idea.”

Aziraphale looked at the baby in his arm with a gentle look there made the demon have a very strong urge to protect them both from all the evil in the world. He restrained himself to do anything. Aziraphale looked at him again with a thoughtful look   
“you are going to be their parents now?”

“WHAT?!?” Crawly yelled in absolute chock and astonishment that the angel could even suggest something like that “I am a **Demon** \- I can't take kids- **are you out of your mind?!** ”

“Be quiet! You are scaring the baby,” Aziraphale hushed him. Crawly just rolled his eyes as dramatically as he could at the angel while said angel fussed over the sleeping baby, “oh! Its a boy.”

“How do you even know that?” he asked. Aziraphale gave him the most 'well, obviously' look he had ever seen. It amused and annoyed him at the same time. 

“I spent seven years with the Griffins and Tekata, do you think I just sat around and did nothing?” he said primly “I did learn a little about newborns while I was with them, but I don't think I can use much of my knowledge with a human newborn. They look very different from each other” 

Both of them looked at the sleeping newborn in silence. Crawly slowly put one of his clawed fingers on the baby's exposed shoulder. He was careful not to hurt them-him.   
The demon already knew he had a soft spot for kids, but seeing Aziraphale holding this newborn in his arms, protecting them even if there were not even their species, made his poor brain and body wants to do all kind of weird things. 

“What were you doing with him in the first place?” Aziraphale suddenly asked. There was a hint of suspicion in his voice. 

“Don't get mad” Crawly shrink a little, he had feared that question “I was ordered to kill-”

“ **Kill!** You were going to kill him?!” Aziraphale immaterially removed the baby from Crawly's touch and used his wings as extra protection to the newborn.

“No! I can't kill kids!” he said back with his own wings trying to touch Aziraphale's to calm him down or maybe to show he wanted to protect the child too. Aziraphale's anger dimmed, but his productive nature was still on full force. Crawly knew that the demons would kill all newborn this night and he looked desperately at the angel;  
“look! I will call in a favor for you to take the kid away. Make sure he is away from the city until he is old enough to stop being seen as a threat to Hell. Think of something you want in return.”

“Better clothing would be nice,” the angel said calmly. He lifted one of his wings to show Crawly he was allowed to get near the baby again and to show he forgave him. The demon slowly touched the newborn to show Aziraphale; he meant no harm to the baby. He perfectly understood the angel's mistrust. He was a demon, after all. The bringer of all evil.   
Aziraphale gave him a serious look “this is a big favor, Crawly.”

“I know. You can ask for at least fifty more favors for doing this for me,” he said and showed his hand to seal the deal “deal?”

Aziraphale looked at his arms; there was currently full of baby and gave him an apologetic look. Crawly sheepishly lowered his hand. 

“Deal,” the angel said with a little smile. Crawly nodded and watched, then he quickly lay the sleeping(Aziraphale most have put a heavy sleeping spell on the baby to make him sleep through all of that yelling) baby in the basket again and walked away from the demon. Crawly new protective instinct towards them both made him follow them. Aziraphale most have heard his footsteps and turned to glare at him “don't follow me! You cannot know where I take him.”

“Right... You know how to contact me,” Crawly said sheepishly. Aziraphale nodded seriously and flew away from the demon, who felt very lost at the moment.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
  
After getting the hold of the human baby, Aziraphale decided to hide him with the foreigner of Egypt. He found a family who has suffered the night greatly before by their newborn died few hours after their sleep( ' surely the work of a demon.' Aziraphale thought grimly), and Aziraphale gave them the newborn.   
He told the family he would protect them while they took care of the newborn baby. Aziraphale found it was best to let be around other humans in his fragile state, and he will take over when it was necessary. 

Aziraphale waited a week before he decided to find the demon once again. Quietly, he moved outside and blitzed himself close to the Nile, the same place where he first found Crawly when arriving. He used the staff snake to call the demon to him, and he has to wait over 20 minutes before he heard Crawly came flying down to him. 

“Sorry for coming this late. Have to come up with a good excuse,” Crawly said and landed beside him and showed him a large bag. Aziraphale looked into it and saw it was a whole bag of clothing. He also notices that Crawly did not give back the staff snake. 

“The demons have been busy lately,” Aziraphale said a bit coldly. He has seen the grief the demons of death have caused. Crawly nodded grimly, “did they tell you why they want newborn killed?”

“Something about one of them being an influence when they grow up,” Crawly said. Both of them looked at the Nile, which mirrored the stars above them “you don't think the Nile kid is the one they truly wanted to kill?”

“He is the only newborn currently,” Aziraphale said.

“Right....”

“He needs a name. Got any ideas?”

“Hmm... Omar?”

“He doesn't look like an Omar. What about Ahmed?”

“No. it is too... Heavenly”

“Well, He is-”

“Aziraphale. I don't like it.”

“Oh, alright. What about Chione?”

“That is the name of a woman. What about... Moses?”

Aziraphale thought about that for a little while. He was pretty good at remembering what different names mean. 

“I like that name, it has a charm,” the angel admitted, and he swore he saw the demon preen himself, “do you think one year is enough time before you can meet him again?”

Crawly looked at him in shock and spluttered;  
“What?! Angel, no. I think that is-” 

“Come now, Crawly. I know you are good around children” Aziraphale stopped him   
“I really shouldn't,” the demon said more quietly “I am a demon if he is really the one who is going to be an influence of the future. It is not good that he is around a demon.”

“Nonsense. I want you to see him again,” the angel gave him a gentle look. He could see Crawly wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut for some reason “Crawly-”

“I better go,” The demon interrupted and quickly moved away from Aziraphale “if you need anything again. Same place?”

“Yes, we can do-”

“Alright, later,” and with those words, he was gone in a blitz.   
Aziraphale looked confused and sadden at the place he once stood.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly tried to hold as little contact with Aziraphale as possible. He already knew he was attached to the angel, and his odd protective behavior flared up every time he thought about Moses and the angel.   
After he saw what the other demons have done that night, he thought it would be for the best not to get to know the baby too well, in case he was commanded to kill the baby.   
It was almost too easy for him to pretend that Aziraphale took Moses before he was forced to kill the kid. He deliberately avoids the fact he begged the angel to take the boy. 

The demon lay in the lower water of the Nile and did everything in his power to stop feeling sorry for himself. He even went as far as staying in his Abyssal form and hissing at everyone who came too close to him. 

' What am I going to do? I know it is a bad idea, he doesn't-' he thought and watched some hippos in the Nile lazing around ' I should just tell Aziraphale to stay away from me until the boy is a grown-up. It can't be more than 20 years. 20 boring years but it is for- '

Crawly snapped his head up when he heard screaming and angry hippo grunting. He saw to his horror a woman and a man got mauled by a bunch of territorial hippos and one hippo running after a girl who surely has been lucky enough to get away from the mauling. 

The demon didn't think at all, he acted on his new protective instinct and shoot into the water as a black arrow and snapped his jaws around the hippo who ran after the girl. Hippo's might look lazy and slow, but the hippo Crawly was fighting was a force to be wreaking with. The demon and the animal ended out in the water, and Crawly began to squish the life out of the heavy animal, and it took far longer than it should have to kill the animal. Unfortunately, other hippos have seen or heard the battle and came to 'rescue' their fallen brethren. A big bull manages to draw blood from him together with two others. Crawly took two more hippo's down by the help of his sword-sized fangs and smacking them with his massive wings. 

The animals refuse to back down, and for a second, he finally got the change to escape. He shot out of the bloody water and away from the still angry hippos. He flew over the shores of the Nile to find the human girl. He found her hiding behind some trees further away from the Nile.   
He landed heavily on the ground and turned into his demonic form. He winched at the wounds the bloody animals gave him. 

“ _Girl? I know you are behind that tree_ ,” Crawly called out to her. He could hear her sobbing.

“ _Go away, Apep!_ ” she yelled back at him.

“ _I am not here to hurt you_ ” he tried again, ignoring the name she gave him. Crawly saw her peek at him from behind the tree. What he could see of her, he could see she was an Egyptian citizen. He slowly went down on his knees to show he was no threat to her “ _I would have let the hippo take you if I wanted you harm._ ”

“ _But you are still evil!_ ” She cried, “ _you killed my parents._ ”

Crawly winched at her words. He should have known those two adults were her parents. He was not sure what he should do with her. He could not leave her alone. 

“ _Yes, I am create to do the evil deeds, but I did not kill your parents,_ ” he told her. She still glared at him “ _I cannot bring your parents back, and I am sorry you lost them that way. I can bring you to someone I know will care for you._ ”

“ _Who?_ ” she asked suspiciously. Crawly thought about it for a moment.

' the angel already has one kid in his care. What can one more do? '  
“ _I can bring you to a being of light, and he can fly, and he is very warm, _”__ he told her _ _.__ The human girl slowly came out from her hiding place, but she still looked suspiciously at him.

 _ _“ _Are you taking me to Ra?_ ” she asked. C__rawly wreck his brain to remember who this Ra fellow was.

__“ _Uh...I guess I am._ ”_ _

__“ _Why? You're mortal enemies. You try to kill Ra every night,_ ” __She said. Crawly could not hold a peal of laughter back by this. The absolute irony.

 _ _“ _We are a mortal enemy, but only when others are looking. Rest of the time, we are friends,_ ” __he chuckled. The human girl looked very confused __“ _our family doesn't like we are friends, so we tell everyone we hate each other._ ”__

 _ _“ _Oh,_ ” __she said after a little while. She slowly came closer to him to really look at him. _ _“ _you are not... really evil?_ ”__

 _ _“ _Not really, bad at my job actually_ ” __Crawly answered her. She was silent for a while, and he decided to ask _ _, “ _what is your name?_ ”__

__" _Marian_ ”_ _

__“ _Crawly,_ ” __he smiled to her. Marian gave a little one back. He came up on his feet again, __“ _we better get out of here and find my friend. Follow me_ ”__

Marian quickly followed him to the meeting place he has with Aziraphale, and he hoped the angel will take her in. 

__-_ _

Crawly saw Aziraphale came walked towards him with a one-year-old Moses in his arm. The Hebrew boy looked very curious around. The demon felt once again the need to protect them both, and he hoped the angel didn't tell him off for giving him another child to care for.

 _ _“__ Crawly, I was beginning to feel concerned that you began to ignore my _ _-” the angel stopped himself when his sky-blue eyes landed on Marian, who stared at him with an open jaw “Crawly, who is that?”__

 _ _“Aziraphale, this is Marian. _Marian, Aziraphale,_ ” __the demon said quickly. The angel still looked very confused at the whole ordeal, and Moses looked more interested in Crawly than anything else. 

__“ _I thought you said you will bring me to Ra,_ ” __Marian accused Crawly, _ _“ _that guy is not Ra._ ”__

“Who is Ra?” Aziraphale asked confused

 _ _“__ A sun God, I think,” Crawly said to the angel and then to Marian, “ _he doesn't normally go under that name but try and ask him something if you want to be sure he is Ra._ "  
Marian looked suspicious at Aziraphale. The angel gently sat down Moses and went slowly over to the girl. 

__“ _My dear girl, I can't help but notice you are hurt,_ ” __Aziraphale said with a caring voice. Marian looked at her wounds and then back at him, _ _“ _may I heal your wounds?_ ”__

Slowly, the girl nodded, and the angel slowly began to heal all of her wounds in front of her eyes. Crawly would have laughed at her flabbergasted expression. If not, it was so important that Aziraphale and Marian would trust each other. The angel healed all the wounds but then stopped right over her chest.

 _ _“ _Oh... your heart is broken,_ ” __he said with a sad tone, and that was more than enough to break the dam for the poor girl. Marian began to sob uncontrollably, and she hugged Aziraphale for comfort, who quickly hugged her back and told her again and again that everything will be okay. Aziraphale gently took the girl up in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. He gave Crawly a serious look. _ _  
__ “Can you carriage Moses? I will show you where I currently live.” 

Crawly should have protested and said that there was no way he should even be near the boy, but he didn't. Crawly wanted to be near them both, and all the doubt were thrown out of the window, and he quickly took the adventurous Moses(who did fuss a little to be held by a stranger in his eyes) and quickly followed the angel to his hom _ _e.__

__-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_ _

Aziraphale's home lay in the middle of the lower class area were a lot of foreigners were living. Aziraphale was living like a commoner with a bit more space to live in. He let Crawly first walk inside before he went in with Marian, now sleeping in his arms. She had fallen asleep crying.   
  
Aziraphale's living area was not considered as common. He had only three-room at the current moment. A big living room with a workplace to himself, a bedroom to Moses, and a food chamber. He snapped his fingers, and a second bedroom began to build itself from nothing.   
Marian jerked awake at the noise the magical building have made, and she looked groggy around the house. Aziraphale hushed her gently and lay her in the second bedroom where a bed was ready for her. He petted her hair gently 

__“ _Ra?_ ” __she asked quietly. Aziraphale hummed to tell her he was listening, _ _“ _what is going to happen now?_ ”__

 _ _“ _I am going to take care of you,_ ” __he said to her with a smile. Aziraphale made an attempt to dry her cheek _ _“ _go back to sleep, I will be here when you wake up._ ”__

 _ _“ _Promise?_ ” __she asked weakly. The angel smiled sadden to her over the lost he could feel from her, and he gently kissed her forehead.

 _ _“ _I promise,_ ” __he said. Marian closed her eyes, and he waited for her to fall asleep naturally before he slowly walked out of her room. Out in the living room, he found Crawly lying on the floor with Moses sitting on his back, playing with his wings.   
He felt sympathy when he saw the toddler pulling in the blackened feathers a bit too hard. He quickly walked over to tell Moses that “ _no, we do not put feathers out_.”

“Thanks, he nearly took all of my feathers” Crawly sighed in relief when Aziraphale put Moses down on the floor where the waddle over to play with some of Aziraphale discarded feathers.

“Don't be dramatic. He has barely any strength to pull out a broken one,” the angel said with a little smile and sat down beside the still laying demon. Without thinking about it, he began to fix the mess Moses have made of Crawly's wings. 

“Have he tried?” the demon purred. It was quite clear that Crawly enjoyed being groomed by him once again. It was over a century ago they last did that to each other. 

“Oh, yes. He also loves to pull your hair.” 

“Geh”

A heavy silence happens between them. The only noise there was heard was Moses babbling while playing and the outside life. Aziraphale sighed deep when he finished his tidy work on Crawly's wings and gave the broken ones to Moses, who were more than happy to have some black ones to his collections. The angel smiled happily to his Pseudo-child before he turned to look serious at the demon

“Why is Marian with you?” Aziraphale asked

“Her parents were killed by hippos. I couldn't just leave her,” Crawly said, he could barely look at him. 

“Oh...” Aziraphale breathed out and looked towards the room Marian slept in. The mere thought of a child should witness their parents' death was an awful thought for him.

“... Will her broken heart heal?” the demon asked quietly. He, too, looked towards the door. 

“With time, yes. It will heal, but will forever have a scar,” Aziraphale said quietly. He knew Marian's broken heart was worse than his own, but it still hurt from time to time “We all have those”

“Yeah,” Crawly said while unconsciously touched a shoulder. Both Natoque turned their heads when they heard Moses come wobbling up to them and babbled something incoherence to them while making a grabby gesture towards Aziraphale. The angel saw out of the corner of his eyes how Crawly's eyes shined when looking at Moses “well, the torturer doesn't”

“Don't call him that?” Aziraphale said sharp and lifted the toddler up in his arms, who kept babble happily. The angel smiled loving at him, “and I will personally make sure he stay pure as long as I can.”

Moses began to yawn, and the angel lay the toddler better in his arms and materialized his wings to put them over the toddler. While Moses slowly falls asleep, he felt Crawly cautiously moving closer to him. When Moses has fallen asleep in Aziraphale's arms, Crawly sat mere inched away from the angel, and he looked at Moses with so many emotions that Aziraphale could not name all of them. The angel watched him for a little moment before the demon's serpentine eyes met his. 

Both of them could feel the connection between them once again, and yet both of them were unsure how to handle it. Slowly, maybe to avoid waking the toddler or to spook one another, they lay each other's forehead against each other, and Aziraphale closed his eyes with a little scared gasp. He wanted this, but he was still cautious. He could even feel the demon were ready to bolt if Aziraphale told him off.  
But he didn't

None of them moved for a long time. They allowed each other intimacy while both of them tried to figure out what was going to happen next. 

Crawly was the first one to move away   
“I owe you once again, don't I?” the demon asked with a shaken voice for a reason unknown. 

Aziraphale took a better look at the demon and saw his wings were fluffed up, his cheek was dusted red, and his serpentine eyes were full-blown golden.   
Aziraphale felt an odd pride in seeing the demon like that.

“More than you can imagine,” the angel said with a wide smile. 

__-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_ _

Four years later, Crawly was out at the market place together with a four and a half-year-old Moses. Crawly was wearing traditional Egyptian women garment with jewelry and rare colors, telling anyone that she was a living God. Moses was wearing simple children's clothing around his waist, and around his upper arm, he was wearing a snake-armlet of the staff of healing.   
Moses was an adventurous child and have a habit of running off without checking up on Crawly. 

“ _Jet, jet! L-look_ ,” Moses ran up to her with a wide smile, holding something there looks like a camel carved out of a tree, “ _the n-nice man gave it t-to me._ ”

Crawly smiled at him. Moses has a slight problem with stuttering, but it didn't hold him back at all, and it probably also helped him that people around them praised him as 'Wadjet' son. The demon looked at the tradesman who kept making a praising gesture towards them. Crawly snapped her fingers and a chest of gold popped in front of the tradesman, (Crawly would later tell Hell that so much gold will lead to greed to the people around him and sins would be inevitable) and he leads the young boy away from the market before it got too hectic with more people wanted to give him gifts. 

“ _Did you say thanks to the man?_ ”

“ _Yes!_ ” the boy said with a large smile “ _A-a-az-Zira-_ ”

“ _Aziraphale_ ”

“ _A-Zira-p-p-pha-a-”_ Moses scrunched his nose up in frustration. He tried a few more times before giving up and went to what he always called the angel, “ _A-Azira told me t-to be kind to a-a-anybody._ ”

“ _Did he now?_ ”

“ _Yes!_ ” Moses laughed, “ _Y-you are kind too._ ”

“ _Blah_ ”   
Moses laughed at his response and his expression. 

-

“ _Moses?!_ ” Crawly yelled while the briskly walked around the poorer part of Egypt, Moses has once again managed to get lost because he forgot to stay near the demon “ _where are you, you little Reed sleeper?!_ ”   
Crawly looked annoyed around him. People were more busy looking at him than to look around for a lost kid.

Typical.

Finally, getting tired of this game, she closed her eyes and mumbled.  
“snake; show me what you see.” 

The only reason why the Staff of Healing even listen to her anymore where because Aziraphale have 'asked' it to with the help of its old owner. The snake-armlet around Moses's arm showed him where the brat was. Not that far away, but he was still moving. She opened her eyes and began to walk the direction she last saw the adventurous child.   
  
With some more time, she needed to look through the metal snake's eyes; she finally found the brat inside a house. Crawly froze for a second when she saw there was blood smeared around the doorframe, a warning that this house was hit by the plague. Frantically she ran inside and saw Moses walking towards two bodies on the bed.   
She quickly grabbed him before he could touch them.

“ _Moses! We don't touch de- I mean don't touch **sleeping** people, and we don't go into strangers' houses!_” Crawly quickly said. She was glad their faces couldn't be seen. 

“ _S-sorry_ ” Moses said with a downcast look “ _I j-jus-just wanted to pl-play with him_ ”

“ _Who?_ ” Crawly asked. The boy pointed at the bed, and Crawly followed his finger and saw to his horror that there was a third body on the bed.   
The body of a child. 

His eyes were still open. 

Crawly hold back a breath of sadness of the boy's fate. She sat Moses down on the ground.  
“ _Wait for me outside. Do not **walk** away from me again._”

“ _Okay..._ ” the boy said, sad and walked outside. Crawly looked at the bodies again and slowly walked over to the boy's body. He was only a few years older than Moses, and it was clear that this family was not native Egyptians. Possible slaves.   
She looked at the parents too, and she decided to eliminate the risk of the plague spreading. Crawly summoned fire in the palm of her clawed hands and decided to start with the boy first.

The boy blinked.

Crawly jumped in utter shock, and lightning-fast lets go of the fire, and she grabbed the boy. 

He was still alive! Only barely, but there was still hope for him. 

Not sure she was still able to do so, the demon began to summon her power of healing. A power she had not dared to use since her angelic soul was taken in fear of it being just a corrupt as the rest of her body.   
The inside of the Boy's body was ruin and barely salvageable, but the magic there flows in Crawly's veins were stronger than any sickness. The plague left the boy's skin, and he took a large breath of air like it was the first time he breathes. The light in his eyes returned, and he looked at Crawly with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.   
Crawly smiled back at him, and she finally let out a breath of relief. 

The boy was saved. Now she just needed to get him out of here and have the angel looked him over in case her healing did some damage.   
Crawly lay a gentle hand over the boy's eyes and put him to sleep. She when summoned the fire once again and let it consume the bodies of the boy's parents. She walked out before the smell of burned flesh came.   
Moses sat outside the house and played with the toy camel he has gotten. He looked up when Crawly came outside with the sleeping boy. 

“ _Can I p-play with him?_ ” the boy asked hopefully. Crawly was more than happy that the brat was too young to understand what he just walked into. The demon made a mental note to have the angel looked him over too just in case he, by accident, catches the plague too. 

“ _Even better. He is going to be your big brother,_ ” Crawly said.   
Moses gasped and jumped around in delight at the thought of getting another sibling.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- 

Aziraphale began to convince the more Educated humans to teach his pseudo-child to read, write, and speak more than one human language. It was hard work to convince them, but Marian was a great help to convince them that Aziraphale was a God named Ra.   
Moses was still too young to learn to read and write, so Aziraphale used most of his energy on Marian, who already was a bit educated.   
She was more than eager to persuade him to read too.   
Which he found great joy in founding out how much humans wrote their own history and myths.   
And his joy for reading began.

When Crawly came back with Moses, Aziraphale was sitting with Marian while they both read some scriptures Aziraphale has managed to get his hands on.   
“ _Ah, glad to see you two back. I wanted to show you this pleasant thing called reading-_ ” Aziraphale stopped himself when he realized the demon was holding an unconscious boy in her arms. He quickly came up on his feet   
" _Marian, my dear. Please take Moses to the side and fetch me some rags and a bowl for me?_ ”

Marian quickly came up on her feet and took a confused Moses with her. She looked concerned back at the new boy before she runs off to find the things Aziraphale wanted. 

“What happened?” Aziraphale asked the demon when she lay the boy on a bed, which miraculous appeared out of nowhere. Crawly glances quick the way the two children disappeared.

“Found him at Death's doorstep. The plague took his parents.”

“What?” Aziraphale gasped and looked over the poor boy. He looked pretty healthy “you healed him?”

“I think I did. But I am sure it's bloody corrupt. You have to check him over to see what I did to him,” Crawly said quickly. He miracle a blanket under the boy's head. 

“Of course,” Aziraphale said and began his work.   
Marian came back with a bowl of water and a wet rag. She quickly went beside Aziraphale and began to clean the boy's dirty skin. The angel could feel that the demon has done a good job in saving the boy, and he didn't found any corruption as the demon insisted he giving the boy.   
Aziraphale finished his work and decided to lift the sleeping spell Crawly have put over him. The boy woke up and looked frightened around. His eyes landed on the angel, and his eyes turned to confusion to fright.

“ _Do not be afraid?_ ” the angel said gently “ _I am here to save you._ ”

“ _Save me?_ ” the boy croaked. Mirian quickly gave him some water.

“ _Yes. You are blessed with a second change of life,_ ” Aziraphale nodded. The boy still looked very confused, “ _what is your name?_ ”

“ _Aaron..._ ” Aaron said, slowly. He looked very unsure at the angel, “ _are you a ghost?_ ”

“ _Ah, no._ ” Aziraphale chuckled. He finally understood why Aaron was spooked on him. His skin tone was not common this far south. He folded his white-blue wings out in all of their glory. Aaron's eyes widen in awe, “ _I am an angel._ ” 

“ _Oh..._ ” was all Aaron could say at the moment. 

“ _You can call me Aziraphale,_ ” the angel smiled friendly to him. Before Aaron could say anything. Moses jumped in.

“ _I-I call him A-Az-Zira. He-he-he is m-m-my dad,_ ” Moses said eagerly. His stuttering got worse when he was excited. Aaron looked confused at the younger boy. 

“ _He is your dad?_ ” Aaron asked even more confused than before.

“ _Y-y-yes!_ ” Moses jumped happily. Behind him, Marian rolled her eyes dramatic at the younger boy. 

“ _He and Apis took us all in when we lost our family,_ ” she told Aaron in a serious tone. The older boy gave her a shocked look “ _I call him Ra, but I think he prefers Aziraphale._ ”

“ _Oh,_ ” Aaron mumbled. He looked very unsure of the whole ordeal he has been thrown into.

“ _I am Marian, and this is Moses,_ ” Marian presented them both. She puts both of her hands on the still eager Moses.

“ _A-a-a-are y-y-you my b-br-bro-brother now?_ ” Moses asked.

“ _I guess I am,_ ” Aaron said. Moses looks like he could explode with excitement. It was quite an adorable sight. 

Aziraphale decided to intervene when Moses began to ask a lot of questions, and Marian didn't look like she wanted to leave Aaron alone either.   
“ _Alright, you two, leave him alone. It has been a rough day for him_ ” 

“ _B-b-but Azira-_ ” Moses protested, but the angel stopped him.

“ _Ah. Go wash your hands. Food is ready when you guys get back._ ”   
Marian took Moses out to the washing area, and Aaron got down from the bed slowly. Aziraphale snapped his finger, and the bed turned into a table once again. The miracle spooked Aaron, but he was calmed down when Crawly lay her hand on his shoulder. The boy looked up in her serpentine eyes.

“ _Sorry I couldn't save your parents. They were already gone,_ ” Crawly said apologetically. Aaron looked away with small tears in his eyes.

“ _Yeah...._ ” he said with a voice full of emotions. Crawly gently hugged the boy. Aziraphale decided to make the table ready for dinner. He still heard the boy say a quiet “ _thank you._ ” 

“ _For what?_ ” he heard the demon ask gently.

“ _For saving me,_ ” Aaron said.   
There was a long pause before the angel heard the demon say;

“ _No problem, kid._ ”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That night, all of the kids were sleeping together on one bed. Aaron didn't want to sleep alone, and Marian, who also suffered from nightmares, was the one who suggested the sleeping together part. Moses just followed his big sister lead and was more than happy to be around the two older kids.   
It took them over two hours before all of them were fast asleep. 

The only one who was no asleep where the two Natoque. Crawly knew she owns at least three-decade of favors for dragging yet another child to the angel's home, and he tried to cash in some of the favors by grooming the angel's messy wings. 

“Crawly,” Aziraphale suddenly said. The demon stopped his work for a little moment.

“Hm?”

“No more children. Marian and Moses are already a handful,” the angel said seriously to her.

“Yeah, sorry about giving you another one,” Crawly smiled, amused. She continued her work on Aziraphale's feathers. They were pretty dusty, “promise not to come with more.”

“I need all the help I can get with all three of them.”

“I can do that.”

“They also need some educations,” Aziraphale said. Crawly gave him a look, which she hoped told that the angel did a pretty good job at that already. The angel rolled his eyes at the demon's glace “from **humans.** I can't teach them human things; I have no idea how it works. Marian still have to help me with making decent food”

“You are asking me to tempt people?” the demon asked, amused.

“For the sake of their education? Yes. Tempt the Pharaoh for all I care” Aziraphale primly 

“You know, you can be a bit of a bastard-”

“Don't say that. I am a **good** angel. I am asking you this for the greater good.” 

“Suuure” Crawly drawled at how offended the angel got when she called him a bastard. She gave up on removing all of the sand in the angel's wings. It was an impossible task with sandstorms coming every week. She decided to comb his wings instead and hope to get the worst sand corn out this way, “nothing wrong with Aaron then?”

“Well...” Crawly could literally hear the angel hold something back “you did a very good job at healing him”

“But?” she pushed. Aziraphale bit his lips. The biggest red flag that the angel holds something back. Crawly narrowed her eyes at him. “Angel, I know there is a 'but' in there. I could feel the corruption when I healed him. What did I do?”

“His lungs is not in tip-to order but I have seen that before” Aziraphale said seriously. Crawly come up on her feet, highly upset about what she has done to the poor boy. Like he didn't have enough trouble as it is. Now he also has to live with a curse she gave him. “Crawly, don't do that. You didn't do anything”

“What exactly?” the demon hissed low, not to disturb the sleeping kids. She starred upset at the angel's sky-blue eyes “I cursed the boy.”

“You did no such thing! You saved his life. You made sure he gets the change to grow old,” Aziraphale argued low back “what he has is a normal human inconvenience.”

“An inconvenience?” she repeated hollowly.

“Yes,” the angel nodded serious “I have seen people on Anuvina with this before. I know how to handle it” the demon still didn't think she did a good job. She cursed the boy, she should have taken directly to Aziraphale instead of playing hero herself. An unforgivable being can not-should not try to do good things. They only make everything worse. The darkness surrounding her mind cleared a little when she felt the angel's hand on her shoulder. Aziraphale looked at her with care and a will of steel “Crawly, remember; you saved all of these children lives.”

“You are taking care of them,” she argues back.

“Because you asked me to,” he said and put both of his hand on each side of his head. Forcing him to look into the sky-blue eyes, she cares so much for “we are in this together.”

“Together,” Crawly whispered and lay her head against Aziraphale's with a hopeful sigh, “I like the sound of that.”

Aziraphale didn't let go of her that night. Which she was thankful for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- the animalius mention in this chapter is one of my own creations. my version of anthropomorphic animals 
> 
> \- Brooks is this kind of animalius https://www.deviantart.com/fableworld/art/Capranem-770919502 and looks like this real animal https://www.google.dk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldatlas.com%2Farticles%2Fwhat-is-the-national-animal-of-pakistan.html&psig=AOvVaw1Q_S38Yh6u6krBdRxg9Rei&ust=1585983679631000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIi4_erXy-gCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD (except Brooks have gotten a serious haircut)
> 
> \- Vaesir is a mix of Asir and Vanir. Both of them are from Nordic mythology. Asir is Gods living on Asgard(Think Odin and Thor), while the Vanir is from a whole other realm but did go into war with the Asir until they did a peace act with each other. I chose to mix their names because of the 'God' status and because many Valkyrie has Vanir heritage and is sometimes shown with angel wings. 
> 
> \- did you know that more people gets killed by a angry hippo than by a lion attack? now you know. they might look cute for some, but they will kill you in your sleep without a second thought. 
> 
> \- Crowley did NOT curse Aaron. he only thinks that because he fully believe he is cause of all evil no matter what he does. Aaron suffer from asthma if anyone wants to know what is wrong with him. so long he takes care of myself, he will be fine.


	17. Exodus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> might be the longest chapter so far.

Years have gone by, and soon all three of the children were not children anymore but full-grown adults.

Marian has grown into beautiful, interdependent women who have the same fierce personality as a lioness. She was highly protective of her younger brothers, which did make her butt heads with Moses a lot of the time.   
Like all other women in her time, she also learned how to weave, sew, make food, and make music. A lot of these things, she persuades Aziraphale to learn, and he, in return, learned her to read and write. 

Aaron was a lot calmer than his two siblings. He didn't like to be around larger crowds and running around in the sand only to close up his air-way and made him unable to breathe. His two other siblings always tried to slow down for his sake, but Aaron preferred to stay at home with Aziraphale with his head down in scrolls or do all types of work away from the crowd. The very few times, he walked with his siblings out to met other people is when he acted like a 'spokesman' for Moses since Aaron has one of those voices, people just listen too. 

Moses grew into a fine young man, he was stronger than both of his siblings, and he never really grew from his stuttering, but that didn't stop him from having a lot of influence on the people around him.   
Moses was not shy to stick his nose in politics, architecture, or weapon fighting.   
A lot of the time, he was the one who dragged his two siblings out in trouble or out to met people with mixed success, of course. 

The two Natoque were still the same, and yet, they weren't. Raising kids together have made a bond between Crawly and Aziraphale, which no other Natoque have ever had before. It was an unknown future for both of them. But they were glad to be in it together.

But a lot of things change someday, not even immortal beings could predict. 

-

“ _Moses? Where are you?_ ” Aziraphale called after the youngest human he has raised. Aaron was with him, but he did not call after his younger brother; he already has difficulties in breathing, and like his two other siblings; he has gotten part of the staff of healing, and his part was the staff. It always healed his lungs when the dust got too heavy in his airway. Aziraphale looked at him from time to time in concern, but Aaron was adamant about following the angel on his search for Moses, who has been away for far too long. 

The humans around the market place ignored the angel's call and did their own thing. The angel in disguise and Aaron asked few people if they have seen Moses(since he was a popular guy, he was pretty known by the people), but those they asked have not seen him. Aziraphale stayed to keep looking in the market place while Aaron decided to look at the fields where farmers were working.  
Aziraphale was just being brushed off by another tradesman when he felt his wings-pendant of the staff made him aware(a thing Crawly taught him) that Aaron wanted his attention.   
The angel quickly went over to the place where Aaron was, and he saw two of his kids on the field together. 

He breathes out a breath of relief;  
“ _Oh dear boy, I know you are old enough to walk your own path but-_ ”

“ _The Moron got into a fight. He badly hurt the other man,_ ” Aaron told him grimly. The angel froze, he did notice that Moses refused to look at him. Gently yet firm, he made Moses look at him and saw some nasty bruises and cuts on most of his face, chest, and hands.   
He has been in a nasty fight.

“ _Oh, my dear boy. What happened?_ ” Aziraphale asked gently and quickly lead them away from prying eyes. 

“ _H-h-he nearly k-kil-killed two slaves!_ ” Moses sneered in rage. He winced a little when Aziraphale healed his fractured knuckles. The young man looked desperately at his main father-figure “ _y-you always t-t-told me to help the weak_ ”

“ _I didn't mean that by nearly killing someone else!_ ” Aziraphale lectured him harshly. Moses looked down in shame. The angel sighed and hugged the young man for giving him a little comfort.

“ _What are we going to do now? The court of the pharaoh will not be happy about this,_ ” Aaron asked. He patted sympathetic his younger brother's back. 

“ _Moses has to face for the crime he committed and take the consequences,_ ” Aziraphale said seriously. The two young men gave him a shocked look, “ _don't worry. Both of you are seen as children of a God, so I am sure the penalty would not be too harsh._ ” 

Aaron and Moses looked at each other before looking back at the angel. Both of them hope that Crawly could get Moses out of the trouble he has gotten himself into. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-   
  
“ _So... this... **Man** , nearly killed one of our builders.... for punished some of his slaves?_” one of the elders of the Pharaoh court asked Aziraphale and Moses. Aaron and Marian stood at the far end of the temple since this did not directly concern them. They were mostly here for Moses's sake. Aaron hides in the shadows while Marian was glaring daggers at the court.   
The court was not full of people for once, but it was clear those who were here did not look like they cared what happened to a Hebrew man. 

“ _That is correct_ ,” Aziraphale said back. He also reassured the court, “ _the man is out of danger of dying and will be on his feet in no time to do the work of the Pharaoh._ ”  
the angel would make sure of that with that magic there flow in his veins. 

“ _Doesn't matter_ ” the old Egyptian court man said bored. It was clear he did not care for lower-class people like some of the other court people did. It was also clear that he had more power than the other court members “ _a low class hurting one of our own deserve punishment_ ” he leans forward in his chair and looked maliciously at Moses “ _I think the death penalty is-_ ”

“ _I d-didn't k-k-kil-kill the man! You only want m-m-me gone due to the fa-fact I; a Jewish born man helped to build your city of Her-hermopolis!_ ” Moses snarled at him and took a step forward toward the court. 

“ _Moses, no_ ” Aziraphale grabbed his shoulder just in case he was going to do something stupid. The poor boy was incredibly smart and had a good leader instinct, but he also did have a bit of a temper.   
In the background, Marian was hissing some very colorful words of what she thought about the court man. Aaron looked absolutely appalled at her language. 

“ _Of-of-of course we want you gone,_ ” a younger court man mocked Moses stuttering. Some of the others laughed with him. They stopped when they looked into Aziraphale's stormy eyes. 

“ _Your people want us to cast away our Gods in favor of your own!_ ” the old court man growled back with what his old body could handle “ _your people is a disgrace for what we are standing for!_ ” 

“ _You old fool!_ ” Marian butted in. Aaron tried to hold her back “ _you are the disgrace to our people and speak with the tongue of Seth!_ ”

A lot of loud argument began inside the temple. Everyone was yelling at each other, and a fight would soon break out with the air of hostility surrounding the temple.

“ _If I may,_ ” Crawly came sauntering from the shadows. All of the Egyptian people in the room went silent, and the children of the Natoques relaxed. Aziraphale breathes a sigh of relief, and Moses looked hopefully at his maternal figure, “ _killing a child of any is not my favorite thing to do if you understand._ ” 

“ _Of course, Wadjet, of course,_ ” a younger court man said quickly to the demon they saw as one of their Gods “ _what do you want us to do with... him?_ ”

Crawly ignored the hidden insult towards Moses and instead looked at the angel and young human like she has never seen them before. 

“ _Let him believe what he wants. So long it does not hurt anyone; it doesn't matter who he prays to,_ ” Crawly said carefree and sat down in one of the empty chairs. Her snake eyes rested a little on Moses before looking away and waved her hand at them, “ _you two can go now._ ”

“ _Don't say anything, dear boy,_ ” Aziraphale whispered seriously to Moses “ _walk away and let Crawly handle it._ ”

He quickly leads the young man out of the temple before the situation escalated. Aaron nearly bolted out of the temple while Marian has more dignity with her exist.   
They all walked in silence for a little while in the great city before Mirian said grimly;

“ _The court is going to get us killed._ ” 

“ _What?_ ” Aziraphale blinked, confused, and looked at her “ _the court will not try to kill any of you._ ”

“ _You saw how they looked at Moses and me. They will try to get rid of all of us for what we stand for,_ ” Mirian argued back. 

“ _We have a lot of influence for the people around us,_ ” Aaron said. Moses nodded in agreement, “ _we are a peasant in blood, but our parents are higher being of this world._ ” 

“ _W-we could take the Pharaoh pl-place because of this and h-h-he knows it,_ ” Moses said

“ _Don't say that!_ ” Aziraphale hushed them. But he knew they were right. Being a child of a 'God' was having the same status as a king. The angel has seen Crawly lurk around Marian more than once since the pharaoh's son did have his eyes on her because of her status, and the demon did not like that at all. Aziraphale was a concern for his children's future, but he tried not to let it be seen, “ _all of you will not be harmed so long. Crawly and I are around. I can assure you of that._ ”

Mirian, Aaron, and Moses still looked at him with a grim expression. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At nighttime were all the humans were sleeping, and Dumah was too busy kissing Beelzebub's feet. Crawly took the change to find the Angel's house; he was living in with their kids. She flew over the city as a winged snake just in case if some humans were up, they will only see one of the Gods of Egypt and nothing else.   
Crawly landed on top of the house, and with a quick look around, she turned into a normal snake and slithered inside via a window.   
The house pretty much looks like itself when she first saw it, except for the bunch of scrolls and papyrus laying neatly in a cabinet on the floor. She saw the angel sitting on one of the chairs by the table, reading one of his scrolls. 

Crawly didn't have to make herself known since she could see that two of the angel's extra eyes were keeping watch on the door and windows, and she already practical lived there with the angel when Hell was too busy seeing what she was going. Even reading, Aziraphale clearly have seen the demon sneak inside the house. Crawly walked quietly over to the small kitchen area and took a jug of wine and also two mugs. With all of that in her arms, she walked over to the table and sat down. She pours herself good among vine while she waited until the angel was finished with his reading.  
  
It took around 10 minutes before Aziraphale folded his papyrus neatly and put it back in its place before sitting down and took the mug the demon has poured for him.   
Crawly knew something was bothering the angel when she saw how ruffled his wings were and how quickly he swallowed his wine. 

“Our kids are scared the Pharaoh's court will try to kill Moses or all of them,” Aziraphale explained while pouring himself more vine “I don't know what to do.”

“They will try, Angel,” she told gently to the angel. Aziraphale sighed hopelessly, and both of them looked at the rooms where each of the humans they have raised together were sleeping. She sighed “look if everything went belly up-”

“like a fish? We haven't eaten fish for a while now.”

“If anything went terribly wrong. I want you to take the kid and leave Egypt.”

“Leave? And go where?” 

“Arabian, the Middle East, or soon to be named Israel for all I care. Just get out of Egypt.”

“...What about you? You are not coming?” Aziraphale asked slowly. His eyes showed he was upset by the conversation. 

“Can't,” she said, simply “someone has to make sure your tracks are covered.” 

“It going to be dangerous for you to stay behind. Our kids will not be happy for us leaving you behind” Aziraphale looked at her with so much concern that it hurt the demon's eyes, and she was forced to look away.

“It will be more dangerous if I am seen with you” Crawly empathize and looked seriously at the angel who looked down in shame.   
Through all of the years, they have raised Mirian, Aaron, and Moses, they had to be careful not to be seen together. Crawly did take them out on trips around Egypt but never with the angel. Only inside the house, they could be seen together and have moments like these. 

Being seen together inside the Courtroom has been a major risk for both of them but it was a risk Crawly has been willing to take.

“Let us hope nothing bad will happened then,” Aziraphale said simply. Crawly nodded and took another drink of her wine.   
They once again ended up talking, drinking, and grooming each other for the rest of the night. None of them needed sleep, so they used the darker times to strengthen the bond there was between them. 

It was just too bad that something did happen, which broke their little family apart. 

-

Crawly wasn't around when it happened. Hell has forced him to do some ridiculous paperwork without the help of magic. He was sure it was some sort of punishment, or the other demons just loved to see him miserable.   
He felt his staff snake ring glow and demand he moves to a place in the lower part of Egypt. He knew something bad had happened, and he knew he would later be punished harshly for running off without finish his paperwork. But the call of the angel was his first priority.

He opened a portal back to Earth to were his ring wanted him, and he ended up in an abandoned quarry where he saw Aziraphale and his kids, and he knew something had gone terribly wrong. 

A body of a man lay on the ground. His head was cracked open.   
Moses was dirty like he has been on the ground. He had a bloody nose and torn clothing.  
Aaron lay gasping for air in Aziraphale's arms. He had large defensive wounds on his arms, and he was covered in blood.   
Miriam stood behind Moses with dirty hands and clothing covered in blood. 

“ _What happened?!_ ” he hissed, scared of the scene in front of him. Aziraphale looked at him with tears in his eyes, and the demon bristled when he saw signs of sword attack on the angel's clothing. Someone has tried to kill the angel.  
But of course, it didn't work since no mortal weapon has no effect on their kind. 

“ _I was walking with them, and I didn't dare to let our kids be alone for a second,_ ” Aziraphale told him. Aaron's breathing has finally gotten down to normal, but he didn't leave the angel's arms. Aziraphale was clearly upset “ _I didn't see them come! I should have been more vigilant_!” 

“ _I-i-it is-s-s your f-fa-fault,_ ” Moses said, he has a solemn, grim look on his face “ _Th-th-they tried to t-t-take him out f-fi-first._ ” 

“ _It didn't work, of course, and two of them went after Moses and Aaron. They tried to kidnap me,_ ” Miriam told Crawly with a scoff. Her hands were shaking “ _the pharaoh probably wants me to be part of his harem if I want it or not._ ” 

“ _A-a-Azira pro-protected her. I can handle m-my own,_ ” Moses said. He apparently took down his attacker with his bare hands. He looked at his older brother, “ _but Aaron..._ ”

“ _They knew I was the weakest link,_ ” Aaron said with a hollow look. 

" _Don't say that,_ ” Aziraphale protested. 

“ _It's true! Look at me!_ " Aaron came angry up on his feet “ _I nearly died because I couldn't-_ ”   
he stopped himself when his emotions got the better of him. Crawly quickly walked over to give him some comfort.

“ _What happened?_ ” the demon asked again. Looking at the angel. It was clear Aziraphale was still very upset and angry at himself when he said;

“ _I couldn't get to him in time.... she was forced to do it..._ ”

“ _And I don't regret it,_ ” Miriam said harshly, she did have a hint of fright in her voice “ _he deserved everything he got_ ”

“ _What about the others? You said they were others?_ ” Crawly urged

“ _They got away,_ ” Aziraphale said bitterly. 

“ _I can still fix this_ ” Crawly went over to the angel and hold his shoulders. He was desperate for holding on to his hope “ _if I get back to the temple, I should be able to do something about this mess._ ”

“ _How do you explain the dead body?_ ” Aziraphale glance at the dead man on the ground. Miriam moved her weight to her other feet in uncertainty. 

“ _I'll think of something. Maybe erasing their memory,_ ” Crawly said before thinking. Aziraphale narrowed his eyes at him. 

“ _The other demons would know if you did that. They would feel that type of strong magic_ ” the angel argued “ _no, the best thing to do is to alter the event_ ”

“To what? Angel, I need something to work with here,” the demon said desperately.

“ _Alter it to that I killed the man,_ ” the angel said seriously. Crawly knew Aziraphale would die for the kids. Knowing that the angel could handle himself and seeing no other options. The demon slowly nodded and was about to take back to the temple when Aaron interrupted his plans. 

“ _Azira, they will try again if they think you did it,_ ” the oldest boy said urgently “they will not stop before we are gone.”

“ _I... I... I have to do something!_ ” Aziraphale cried desperately while fidged with his hands and looking at all of the humans “ _I can't let Miriam take the punishment. They will force her to-_ ”

“ _I do it,_ ” all heads turned to look at Moses. He has a steadfast expression “ _t-tell them I d-did it_ ” 

“ _No. they are going to kill you,_ ” Crawly urged. He didn't like this idea at all. 

“ _I flee the land. I-I am s-strong enough,_ ” Moses counterattacked “ _the-they will not t-touch Mi-mi-Miriam with you closer t-to her._ ” 

“ _And I am no threat to them. They will not touch me if I just stay out of their way,_ ” Aaron said. He didn't look the two immortals in the eyes, but it was clear he was on Moses' side. 

“ _But... but... the desert will kill you,_ ” Aziraphale stammer desperately to Moses. Crawly saw how willing the youngest boy was to risk his life for the sake of his sibling. He didn't see the seriousness in the angel's eyes, but he heard it in his voice, “ _I can't let you go alone._ ”

Crawly nearly snapped his neck by how fast he looked at the angel who already made himself ready to leave Egypt. He has already miracle a bag of food and a rope to Moses. The demon immaterially tried to stop him.  
“ _Angel-_ ” 

“ _Protect Miriam and Aaron for me, Crawly_ ” Aziraphale turned to look at him with his determined yet sad sky-blue eyes. 

“I can't let you leave,” the demon whispered and desperately lay his head against the angel. He felt lost, sad, and angry he couldn't do anything to avoid this “you are my light.”

“I'm sorry. But I have to do this,” Aziraphale whispered to him, and his hands squished him closer. Both of them knew they couldn't stay together anymore. Crawly tried to hold on the angel a little longer, but he knew when Aziraphale let go of this that it was time for him and Moses to leave. The angel's eyes were wet with tears, and he quickly walked over to Miriam and Aaron to say his goodbyes to them too “ _take care of each other, listen to what Crawly say and please; stay out of trouble._ ”

“ _I promise,_ ” Aaron said. He tried to hold back his tears and hugged the angel desperately close before letting him go. 

“ _I will miss you,_ ” Miriam said. Crawly saw when she hugged Moses that her eyes have turned to stone like her heart. She most have seen it as the only way to survive. 

“ _I know, and I am sorry I couldn't protect you better. I will miss you both terrible,_ ” the angel said when Miriam hugged him. Crawly turned his head away when Aziraphale kissed the forehead on both of his stay-behind kids. He was giving them extra protection, and the demon's heart felt heavy. The angel walked over to Moses, who also has said his goodbye to his siblings and was now ready to leave with Aziraphale. The angel hesitated for a moment before he turned around to look back at Crawly, “I will see you again.” 

“....I know...” Crawly said. His wings scraped the ground in defeat when Moses and his angel disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

Their little family has now broken apart, and only the silent Gods knew if they will ever see each other again. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale and Moses walked alone in the desert. It was terribly hot, and the angel has let out his wings to spare Moses from most of the sun's rays. He smells a bit like burned chicken by doing this, but it was something he could live with so long Moses was safe. 

“ _Ezra, te-tell me the story about the Garden of E-e-Eden again,_ ” Moses said. He was probably bored

“ _Ah, well, what version do you want me to tell?_ ” Aziraphale asked with a knowing smile.

“ _Not sure_ ,” Moses said thoughtfully, “ _what about the o-one with the Apple tree?_ ”

“ _Ah yes, I like that version too,_ ” the angel wriggled a little in delight for a good story. Everything to keep his mind away from the thought of those they were forced to leave behind, “ _alright. God came to Earth and wanted to make a garden._ ”

“ _But the place was terribly dark._ ”

“ _So God said 'let there be light!' and light came to Earth_ ” Aziraphale snapped his fingers for effect. No magic came out of it “ _but God also decided to create all living creatures from the tiny ant_ ” and pointed at a termite mount they walked past and then pointed up to the sky “ _To the flying bird._ ”

Moses followed his pointing finger to the air. He has to push one of the wings away to do so  
“ _Th-that's a vulture_ ” he stated 

“ _she surely thinks it gets a meal out of us today,_ ” Aziraphale smiled. He spread out his wings and yelled to the vulture, “ _not going to happen today, Miss Vulture!_ ”

Moses laughed loudly when the Vulture grumpily flew away from them.

“ _And then God created th-the humans_ ,” Moses continued on their story “ _A-Adam and Eve._ ”  
he looked at the angel to be sure he got the names right

“ _Yes. Adam was created from..._ ” Aziraphale looked around in the hope he will get some inspiration to his tale. He saw something which makes his eyes sparkle “ _clay!_ ”

“ _Clay?_ ”

“ _From the four corners of the world. The angels came with it._ ”

“ _You just made that up!_ ” Moses laughed. Aziraphale smiled big at his achievement, “ _w-what about Eve?_ ”

The angel looked thoughtful up   
“ _What about made from a rib from Adam? Does that sound possible?_ ” 

“ _I don't know, I weren't there_ ” Moses nudged him playfully, “ _and in the mi-middle of the Garden there was a-a-a apple tree-_ ”

“ _Actually there were a-_ ”

“ _Ezira_ ”

“ _Right right, an Apple tree it is then. And that tree contains all eh... what could be a good thing an apple could contain?_ ”

“ _Hmm, know-knowledge? The idea of right and wrong? Aaron would have liked that_ ”  
both of them were silent for a little moment before Aziraphale continued; 

“ _The knowledge of right or wrong in the world. And God told Adam and Eve not to eat of this tree, or else they would be kicked out._ ”

“ _Sound familiar. wh-where were yo-you in all of that?_ ”

“ _Me? Well, in reality, I was one of the Guardians of the gates,_ ” Moses gave him a curious look, and Aziraphale gestured something wide with his arms “ _biiig giant walls of ice._ ”

“ _What is i-i-i-ic-ice?_ ”

“ _Harden water. It does that when it is really cold_ ” Moses just gave him a very confused look, so he decided to let the subject drop for now “ _I protected the Garden from the outside world._ ”

“ _So... the angels gua-guarded the Eden,_ ” the human mumbled thoughtfully. He got a mischievous look in his eyes, “But you also ca-cast them o-o-out after eaten from the tree of knowledge.”

“ _I would never!_ ” Aziraphale gasped dramatically with wings and all. Moses laughed at the angel's reactions. 

“ _And th-then God kicked all the animals o-out too, and Eden were no-no more,_ ” he said with a smug smile “ _the end._ ”

“ _That was a bit anticlimactic._ ”

“ _But it is true. Sort off. The garden of Eden is no more._ ”

“ _True. The great desert took over the garden. it was no longer protected by God._ ”

“ _Do you think G-God is watching over us right now?_ ” Moses asked in his somber tone again. He didn't stop, so Aziraphale just lay one of his wings over his shoulder. 

“ _Hard to say. God works in mysterious ways,_ ” he said. Moses only nodded. They walked in silence for at least an hour, and Aziraphale protective nature flared up when he notices Moses began to stagger a little “ _we better find some underground water source for you, my boy. You are looking a bit pale._ ”

“ _Yeah...._ ” Moses mumbled. Aziraphale immaterially began searching for water. He knew the human was dehydrated when he did not come with a snarky comeback with him being a fussy hen mother.  
The angel leads them to a rock formation where he manages to pull up some groundwater and hold it in a flying sphere to the human who drinks of it obliged. Moses sat down in the shade of the rock formation while the angel tried to find some more things(water, food... some sun lotion, maybe?) to give to Moses. 

They both sat in silence while looking at the sun, slowly going down on the horizon. Aziraphale snapped his fingers, and a fireball popped out of nowhere. He knew how cold the nights in the desert could be, and he will not let his boy freeze to death. 

“ _We better find civilization as fast as possible. Your safety depends on it_ ” Aziraphale sighed. He lay down with his back to the young human and spread his wing over Moses to give him extra warm through the cold night. The cold didn't bother the angel since he runs warm all the time. 

Moses was silent for a moment before asking gently,  
“ _You are keeping watch tonight again?_ ”

“ _As always, my dear boy. I will not let anything happened to you._ ”

-

“ _Ah! Human civilization!_ ” Aziraphale exclaimed happily when they saw goats nearby. He quickly hides his wings and extra eyes. Moses chuckled at his discomfort. 

“ _Finally! I was getting ti-tired of all that-_ ” Moses stopped when he heard screaming. He ran after the scream with Aziraphale right after him but in a shorter tempo (Cherubim were not built for running). Both of them saw some men harassing some young girls around a water fountain for the animals. Before Aziraphale could say anything; Moses has already run off to intervene  
“ _HEY! Leave those girls alone!_ ”

“ _And who are you, stranger?_ ” one of the men asked him with a leer. 

“ _A m-man who do not like the way you treat the-these young women_ ” Moses went right up in the shorter man's face with a sneer there would make Crawly proud “ _leave this place._ ” 

“ _What's wrong with your voice?_ ” one of the men mocked him. His partner laughed but not for long when Moses punched him hard. Aziraphale winced when he heard Moses broke the man's nose. 

“ _An m-m-minor injury. Y-y-you should have seen what I did to-to the crocodile there attacked m-m-me_ ” Moses lied easily. An unfortunate thing Crawly has learned him if someone asked the angel “ _leave, or I add you to my kill list._ ”

The two men began to leave, clearly not wanted to fight with a man who has a confidant as high as a mountain in his combat skills. Aziraphale watched them from a distance at the two men leave Moses and the girls alone. 

“ _You are alright-wait!_ ” Moses tried to ask the girls, but they run away from him and probably off to the nearest village. Moses looked at Aziraphale helplessly.

“ _Oh dear, I think you scared them,_ ” Aziraphale frowned, “ _Or maybe I scared them?_ ”

" _You? How d-do you think t-th-they are scare of y-_ "

“ _Strangers!_ ” both man and angel jumped at the booming voice. A man with a slightly darker skin tone than Moses came over to them, “ _my daughters told me you helped them?_ ”

“ _I did and-_ ” Moses looked quickly at Aziraphale who nodded with him “ _We a-are only here a-asking for a little to drink and then we will-_ ”

“ _Don't speak like that! You and your pale friend helped my daughters, now let me show you some hospitality_ ” the other man lay an arm over Moses's and Aziraphale's shoulder and began dragging them toward his village. “ _come, come, drink and eat with us._ ”

-

The family ended up taken Moses in as one of their own after hearing what happened to him. Aziraphale stayed close by and after the family got used to his strange skin-color and he told he raised Moses as his own. He too were welcomed into the family.

It didn't take long for the chief of the family and Aziraphale to agree with a marriage proposal of Moses and a beautiful woman named Zipporah.   
Aziraphale gave them both his blessing in marriage and he felt pride in seeing his youngest child feeling so much love for this woman. 

Like back in Egypt, Moses was soon a very influential guy, and he soon helped both the people around him and the priests in the area. Aziraphale made sure he never got selfish or greedy with the influence he had over the people and made him take smaller jobs there would help him in seeing things on a lower level.   
One of these odd jobs was to take care of the goats. It was not a hard job since Aziraphale's magic always made sure the animals stayed close by. 

“ _Zipporah told me y-you are beginning to be v-ve-very good at weaving_ ” Moses began their conversation. He also gave some of his food to the angel. 

“ _Oh! I do hope my first project is going nicely. It would be nice that you have some sort of a family heirloom,_ ” Aziraphale said while he took the food happily. He didn't really care that weaving was only seen as a women's job. gender role has no meaning for an angel “ _I want to leave you two something when the first child is born._ ”

They were silent while they eat their food. None of the animals tried to run away. Aziraphale made sure of that.

“ _I am thinking of calling my future child after either you or Crawly,_ ” Moses mention with his chest shoots out in pride.

“ _I don't think that is a good idea, my dear boy,_ ” the angel said sadden, “ _our kind is not really allowed to be this close to the humans._ ”

“ _But the two of you raised m-me and my siblings_ ”

“ _Doesn't mean the other angels are happy about it...it is best that the world does not know about Crawly or me. At least not under our real names._ ”

Both of them let the subject drop. The angel looked over the animals to make sure everything was good when the human grabs his shoulder to get his attention. “ _Ezra, look._ ” 

Aziraphale looked up and saw the mountain nearby glowed up in a strange light. Common people who saw it would probably think there was a forest fire on the mountain. 

“ _Shall we go a-and warn the people?_ ” Moses asked. He has raised up onto his feet in case he needed to run to the village.

“ _Oh dear, that is not a normal forest fire. That is Holy fire. Created from the mouth of the Creators themselves,_ ” Aziraphale explained. He knew that meant either a Creator were nearby or an Angel. He was about to tell Moses they better go back to the village when the man ran to the mountain, “ _Moses!_ ”

When the man didn't listen, Aziraphale looked helplessly at the sky for guides before he followed Moses. 

-

Clearly not build for either climbing or running. Aziraphale was completely out of breath when they finally reached the burning area. 

In a small valley on the mountain, both of them saw a bush burn in a blue fire. The bush itself did not burn, which Aziraphale knew Holy fire did. This type of fire could only harm things the caster wished to harm — the main reason why angels used this type of fire on their weapons. 

“ _Wow..._ ” Moses gasped at the sight and tried to get close to the bush

“ _I don't get too close to it, my boy. We do not know who this fire is meant to hurt,_ ” Aziraphale warned him. Moses stopped up and kept his distance to the burning bush. Aziraphale stayed in the shadows of the mountain in case there was another angel nearby. 

And he was glad he did that.

“ _Child of the Hebrew people_ ” An albino-looking angel came walking from behind the burning bush. Aziraphale recognized him as Keter, a Lordships Seraphim. He hid better for the other angel's blind eyes “ _I am here to take you to Yahweh. Take off your sandals before walking with me._ ” 

The Seraphim opened up a portal with the fire from the bush. The bush itself began to bloom when the last fire left it. The Seraphim looked at Moses expectantly. Moses took a quick look behind him to look at Aziraphale, who gestured him to follow the other angel. The portal was conveniently opened a little longer than normal, so Aziraphale managed to sneak with them inside the area of a Creator. 

Aziraphale gasped when he realized that he stood on a cloud. He stood in something people would think of Heaven. Pillar of clouds was around him. But there were no sun, stars, or a moon: only the sky, the clouds, and lightning around them. The angel saw Moses walk with Keter, and he quickly followed them from a distance.   
They stopped when Moses stood in front of a Creator, Aziraphale recognized They were the same ancient being he saw before the destruction of Sodom and the other towns. The lime green eyes were looking down at them but this time the God has nearly covered with wings and looked far more humanoid than They did the last time Aziraphale saw Them.

“I come with the human as you requested my Lord,” Keter called to the other Creator. Other angels could not see it was not their creator. 

“ _ **You can leave now,**_ ” the creator said to Kether with a deep male voice. The Seraphim angel bowed and left in a blink of an eye. The Creator looked down at Moses, “ _ **hello Moses. I have watched you from the day you were born.**_ ”

“ _You have?_ ” Moses asked. From his hiding place, Aziraphale did see the man move cautiously towards the ancient being. 

“ _ **yes,**_ ” the other God said calmly. Like they were just talking about the weather, “ _ **I knew you were not meant to be an influence when I first saw you. I am happy to see that that timeline disappeared when you were found and raised with the two Natoque to be an idol for the people around you**_ ” He looked up and stared directly at the place the angel was hiding “ _ **you can stop hiding Aziraphale.**_ ”

Embarrassed for being caught, Aziraphale moved flustered out from his hiding place and quickly stood beside Moses. He did remember to show some respect to the other Creator.  
“my Lord.”

“ _ **I am called many things. I am called Yahweh and Eloah**_ ” the Creator told “ _ **and someday I would be known as Theos, Kyrios, Jehovah and many more**_ ” He spread out His hundred of wings which were the same color as the sky itself “ _ **I am the sky with the weather you cannot control and I am the hope you have in life and faith**_ ”

The clouds around them have turned heavier, and thunder could be heard in the distance. The small change concerned the angel a little. Moses didn't look like as he felt the change in the area and he asked;  
“ _What do you want with me-_ ”

“ _ **Wait,**_ ” The Sky God interrupted, and He looked at a certain empty place. Within seconds, a second angel appeared out from nowhere. This one was a Cherubim with dark skin and reddish wings.   
Aziraphale recognized him as Hadraniel, a Thrones and part of the Guiding angels. 

“I come by your command, my Creator,” Hadraniel said to God. The Creator just nodded, and the other Cherubim turned around to look at Moses, but his expression turns to a slight annoyance when he saw Aziraphale, “what are you doing here, Aziraphale?” 

“... long story,” the angel shrugged, avoiding the true reason why he was here without Heaven's permission “you?”

“My duty is to guide the human back to Egypt and-”

“ _No,_ ” Moses interrupted the other Cherubim. Aziraphale was surprised he even understood the other angel. most be God's doing “ _I don't w-want you._ ”

Hadraniel glared at him like he were nothing more than a disobedient pet  
“that is not your place to decide, human.” 

“ _ **Hadraniel,**_ ” God said with a slight growl in his voice. A dark storm appeared around them, and silent lightning strikes down behind the Creator. Moses moved closer to Aziraphale for extra protection against this ancient power, and the angel felt an awesome power around him. The other angel was not aware of the danger they were in. “ _ **Aziraphale has been his Guardian angel from birth; he takes his duty more seriously than you do**_ ” Hadraniel began to protest, but the Creator showed his teeth, and His eyes were nearly murderous “ _ **be quiet.**_ ”

The other angel was smart enough to stay quiet.   
The sky around them turned calmer again, and Moses slowly walked away from Aziraphale and towards the God. 

“ _My Lord, what do y-you want with me?_ ” Moses asked.

**“ _ **I will only tell you part of the future and let you decide what you will do with my knowledge**_ ” The Creator stated “ _ **in a month, the four horsemen; Pestilence, Pollution, War and Famine will be created by a terrible curse cast by naive and yet revengeful sorcerer over Egypt. People would die by the miasma these terrible creatures of dark magic, and the Natoques will fight until the sand is golden.**_ ” **

Moses and Aziraphale looked at each other with horror in their eyes. 

“ _M-m-my siblings,_ ” Moses asked urgently, “ _wi-will my fa-fa-family survive?_ ”

The Sky God looked at him with a mysterious expression. It took five long seconds before He said;  
“ ** _No. The servants of Death thinks Aaron lives on borrowed time, and they will claim him. Miriam will be taken by one of the horsemen and Aziraphale-_** ” He looked directly as Aziraphale. The angel felt his stomach dropped, and for one who had never felt that emotions before, it was dreadful “ ** _Your best friend_ _will be claimed by War from the ocean and the sky. They will die with hundreds of others following them._** _”_

An image of Crawly laying on the ground with golden blood running from his mouth and with only stumps of mangle wings on his back. Miriam and Aaron were lying nearby with as empty eyes as Crawly appeared in the angel's mind.   
He felt cold in dread of this future. His wings shook of the mere thought he will lose them all in the worst possible way. 

“ _I-I ha-have to go-go back_ ,” Moses said, his face mirrored the same fear Aziraphale felt. 

“ _Of course. I am coming with you_ ” the angel said. Both of them turned to leave, but Hadraniel stopped them in their tracks.

“This is meant to be,” he said. Aziraphale would love to shove the other angel out of his way, but the fear of what Heaven would do to him, made him stand down. Moses swore some very colorful words(he surely has learned from Miriam) at the other angel, but he was smart enough not to attack the Cherubim. 

“ ** _You will change the timeline,_** ” God said over Moses swearing. Aziraphale turned around to look at Him. No words were said between them, but the angel hoped, begged that the Creator could see what he chose, and will always choose, but he needed help to get there. The ancient being looked at him with a mysterious expression before he said: “ ** _Hadraniel,_ Let them go**.”

Hadraniel did what he was told, and both Moses and Aziraphale quickly moved over to the portal back to Earth.

“ _ **Aziraphale**_ ,” the Creator called after the angel. Aziraphale stopped up and looked back while Moses jumped through the portal “ _ **beware. By going, you will be forced to face one of your biggest fears**_.”

“I have to go,” Aziraphale whispered, unsure the God could hear him. He, too, briskly walked through the opened portal and back to Earth. The ancient being just smiled. 

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**Planet Earth**

**year 1446 bc**

**Egypt**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly sat in one of the temples, desperately trying to get out and back to his kids. He knew something was going to happen, and the other demons keep dragging him into the danger while he wanted to run back to safety.   
Darkness has spread to Egypt. Humans couldn't see it, but they could surely feel something was coming. The snake demon already knew what it was; the other demons in the area couldn't stop talking about the Horsemen which are something Crawly only recently have heard about. 

Many would think that a 'horseman' was just an immortal human who rides on an immortal a mythological horse. 

They weren't 

There was no man or a horse. Just. One. Entity.  
  
A terrifying entity who looked like a horse with three eyes and on its back grew something there looks like a human torso.  
They could not even be called a creature since they were never born in the first place. They were not even created like the Natoque, they were created by dark magic whispered to the humankind by the Fallen.   
Crawly was not sure when it happened, but he knew the angels just learned to control them to do their bidding. They were not living creatures but made out of something dark and unnatural.  
The problem with a monster made out of magic; they do not hold any loyalty to anyone. Not even the Natoque were fully able to control them. only steer them to certain areas.  
They only did the one thing there were created to do. 

War, Famine, Pestilence, and Pollution were created to spread these horrors. They were created as a weapon against enemies and ended up killing the one who created them too because of the mind of humans.

Crawly looked anxious toward Dumah, who was watching out for the two horsemen.   
Dumah used to be an Angel of death. Pretty much the only thing there could 'control' the horsemen.   
The horsemen were lead by disaster and death, after all. 

“They will come soon,” Dumah said with a dramatic flair. 

“Oh goody,” Crawly whispered to himself. He holds he blacken wings tight to his body. He dearly wished he could get back to the house and get his kids away from the upcoming danger. He thought they would be safe in the house, but with the horsemen coming.   
Nobody was safe. 

“You should rejoice Crawly. New souls to our cause will be given to us.”

“What's the rush? We are going to get the souls no matter what-”  
he never manages to say more before the other demon grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against a wall. 

“Death will come to this land, Snake. I will not let anyone stand in my way to do my duty,” Dumah hissed with manic joy.

“You... hugk,” Crawly gasped in his grip. Natoque could not die by choking, but it still hurt like hell. he blitzed and went into offense position far away from Dumah

“We are demons, Crawly. Demons are the embodiment of evil,” Dumah said while he slowly turned to look at him. His ugly gray wings were raised in dominance “the snake itself is the poison of the people: the liar, the deceiver. You will tell everyone that everything is in perfect order. Make them blissfully unaware of the Death there comes to the land.”

“But all four horsemen? Isn't one enough?” Crawly tried

“We need them all. We need them to see what they can do and when the time is right,” Dumah chuckled darkly “well, then we will be the ruler of this world.”

“Hgk...” Crawly winced. He did not want to stay in the same room as Dumah anymore. One bruise was enough, thank you. He wanted to find his kids before it was too late “I will go and... do what you said”

“Ahh yes. Let them stay in Death grasp,” the other demon said and magically repaired the chair; he smashed and sat down to look at the city like the death of hundred was a big show. Crawly quickly walked out of the temple.

“Creep,” he muttered under his breath. He honestly hated him. He was pretty sure that even if he got the block removed, he would not change that much. Even some Natoque were just born evil.   
He was so glad he had already gotten Brooks and his pack out of Egypt years ago. Crawly briskly walked to a good place to blitz.

At the house, he called for his two remaining kids, but they were nowhere to be found. Crawly was close to panic when he heard someone call for him:

“ _Crawly!_ ” 

“ _Wha-uff!_ ” said someone gave him one heck of a surprise hug. He desperately tried to get out of the hug when his sense of smell told him who it was “ _Moses!?_ ”  
the demon quickly hugged the man he has not seen for over two decades.   
He has missed that boy, but right now, he needed to get them out of Egypt.  
“ _I am really happy to see you, kid, but right now, we need to find your siblings and get the Heaven out of here. All four horsemen are coming-_ ”

“ _When will they come?_ ” Crawly nearly snapped his head when saw Aziraphale were also back, and apparently, there were with a small family of his own, and to his relief, he also saw Aaron with his little family and Miriam who have chosen not to be a mother. She was a great aunt, though.

Crawly quickly ran over to the angel and hugged him so tight he could do. Aziraphale returned the hug strongly back. Both of them have missed each other. 

“ _Tonight,_ ” Crawly told seriously and looked his angel in the eyes “ _Dumah will not let anyone go, he would want to kill as many as possible._ ” 

The demon saw the protectiveness flare in the angel's eyes, a determined he was both scared of and admired. Aziraphale walked over to their family and began to instruct;

“ _Moses, Lead the others out of Egypt. It doesn't matter where you go, just get out of here. I will try and save as many of the other people of Egypt as possible._ ”

Moses nodded and led their family away. Miriam instructed the women of the group to grab as many supplies as fast they could, and Aaron made sure the children stayed together. All of them made themselves ready to leave Egypt for good. They would not be able to leave Egypt tonight since it took time to gather enough things to survive a long journey. Aziraphale spread his own wings out, ready to fly out to warn more people of the upcoming treat. 

“Oi angel!” Crawly shouted and grabbed Aziraphale sleeves. He wanted to tell him just to leave this place before it was too late. Leave and protect themselves from the danger. But the look the angel gave him made the words stay in his sour throat. 

“Crawly. We are in this together”

Shocked by the angel's word, Crawly lets the angel fly away from him once again. 

-

Not even two days after he last saw the angel, Crawly watched how the Nile turned more and redder by the day, and fish began to die, and frogs began to increase on land, but the water they were swimming in, killed them too.   
Pollution, the chalk-white horseman, has come to the land and has poisoned the Nile. 

The dead fish and frogs lured the flies, and the pale Pestilence came with them and attacking the cattle and humans alike. Pestilence was not kind to either human or animal, and soon only the fields were edible. 

But not for long. Famine, the black horseman came, and the locust and rats came with. Eating everything in their path and leaving nothing to the humans. Only the upper Egypt still saved but not for long. 

Because only a few days later, the fire-red War came with a foreigner from the sea. Barbarian who came from the still young Europe and went to the sea as pirates. It the hard times and War whispering in their ears; they saw Egypt as an easy target. 

The pharaoh had his hands full with the people from the sea. He probably didn't see what happened in the lower part of Egypt. Death angel appeared and Demons were out for blood. 

Crawly saw the leader of the Death angels Azrael get a bit too close to Aaron when he collected some still alive donkeys, and he was glad no other demons were in the area to see him protect Aaron from the Death angel who tried to take his soul. He manages to get the oldest boy under Aziraphale's protections before anything happened to him.   
Miriam ended up getting sick by stress and from one of the horsemen. Her hands, toes, and part of her hair began to turn the same color as the angel's skin and hair. Crawly stood guard while Aziraphale healed her body. She was soon healthy again, but the discoloration on her body refused to leave. 

He saw some other angels( Mattatron and Uriel) came to fight the lesser demon in the area. A smaller battle between Heaven and hell began, and the first blood of both sides have already been spilled. The two other angels ended up killing Famine and being a real pain to the black-winged demon Belial who leads the legion of lesser demons in battle. 

Both sides didn't care for human casualties.

Crawly (and unfortunate also Dumah) saw Aziraphale took the change to flee the country with Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and their families together with five other families who also wanted out of Egypt, while Heaven and Hell were in each other throat. 

Crawly didn't want to hunt Aziraphale and their kids down, but he could not let Dumah get near them on his own, nor could he protect them from Hell itself without getting killed in the process. Crawly felt forced to hunt his family with Dumah. To Crawly's dismay, he saw the other demon manage to herd Pestilence to follow Moses' group since some of his people were sickened by the pollution of the Nile. 

The only thing the two demons have to do is to follow the pale spotted horsemen.   
Crawly knew even if Aziraphale used his magic to lead the two demons astray, and he had no chance against Pestilence, who followed the fleeing human group like a bloodhound sniffing a trail.

Pestilence was extremely fast, and it not for the greenish pus its body produces from infected wounds, and it left miasma droppings on the ground while in a run, they would have lost the trail of the horseman.   
The two demons found Moses people in the middle of the desert, and the two monsters saw Pestilence have been 'killed' by Moses, Miriam, and some of the other more battle-ready humans while they have tried to catch up with the now death horseman.

The Horsemen were only as strong as the humans let them be. They will always come back because of the cursed magic they were created from, but even a human child could even defeat them under the right circumstances. 

Both demons ignore the rotten mass; there used to be Pestilence, and they went straight after the humans.   
Being a Cherubim, Aziraphale most have seen them come from miles away(probably also why Pollution was already down when the demons intervene), and he flew up to meet them in battle. He was holding a human sword in his hand and glared at both demons. 

“You shall not harm them!” he shouted and rammed into Dumah with an incredible force with the help of his own body weight and the human sword he has impaled in the demon's stomach. He ignored Crawly for obvious reasons.   
Unfortunately, human weapons have no effect on either angels or demons. A human weapon could make them bleed but never kill them. Dumah turns into his demonic form, which was the classic image of a 'Thrones' from biblical stories.  
Except his 'wheels' did not glow in holy light, and his thousand eyes oozed with black goo.   
Aziraphale was tiny compared to the demon's demonic form. 

“ **I will kill you, and then I will enjoy killing your precious humans!** ” Dumah leered with all of his eyes on Aziraphale. 

Crawly immaterially knew Dumah made a big mistake when a murderous-looking Aziraphale glowed and for the first time in his life, turned into his celestial form.

Only Seraphim's celestial forms gave off a glow.  
The two other Natoque species didn't

Aziraphale's celestial form looked like a snow-white dove but with razor-sharp talon and beak. He has the typically pictured glow of a halo behind his head, and even the tip of his wings and tail glowed a holy light. He has all of the eyes of a common Cherubim on the cheek, chest, and wings. He was like a sun in the Egyptian night. 

Crawly nearly dropped from the air, how divined and beautiful Aziraphale's celestial form was. 

Aziraphale flew straight at the used-to-be Thrones and began to pluck the eyes of Dumah who tried to shake the very protective angel off him, but he has clearly underestimated Aziraphale determine to protect, and the battle ended faster than expected when he somehow manages to overpower Dumah making sure he stayed on the ground by miracles a smaller mountain on top of the other demon. If not for the seriousness of it all, Crawly would have laughed at how ridiculous Dumah looked, pinned under a large boulder. Aziraphale flew back to the air to face up Crawly. 

“.... I didn't know you could do that,” Crawly said when he slowly flew close to Aziraphale in his celestial form. Crawly was tiny compared to Aziraphale.

“ **As you said, my friend... I never tried,** ” the angel said with a voice there sounded like a thousand chimes. 

Crawly looked down at the ground were he saw Dumah still fighting against the magical boulder.   
He could not let the angel go this time. He sighed somberly and turned into his own Abyssal form.

“ **I do not wish to fight you, Crawly** ,” Aziraphale said sadly, and he keeps his sky blue eyes on him when Crawly surrounded him with his serpentine body.

“ **Either does I, but I have no choice,** ” he said somberly to the angel. He could see Aziraphale recognized his own words used against him. 

Lightning-fast; Crawly snapped his jaws around Aziraphale's neck and curled his body around the angel's to make him unable to fly. The celestial light the angel produces burned him by contact.  
Aziraphale was not chosen to be a Guardian of Eden for nothing. He tossed his head until Crawly was forced to let go of him(he could keep holding him, but he did not want to really hurt the angel), and then he used his strong wings to push him away. Both of them circle each other in the air, jabbing after the other but it was clear for both of them, that none of them would want to harm the other seriously.   
Aziraphale made an impressive flying maneuver and ended up grabbing Crawly's wings from behind. Crawly tried to get the angel to let go of him by biting after him(he always quickly let go again because of the Holy light and because this was his angel), but the angel refused to let go, and both of them fall to the ground in a high speed.   
Crawly did not fight back. Both of them hold each other eye contact while they fall together. The demon closed his eyes before he hit the ground, which knocked him out cold. 

-

Crawly was woken up(rather rudely) by Belial, who most have won her battle against the two angels, but she did not come unscathed from it...  
the high-ranking demon have currently only one arm at the moment, and she was covered in golden blood.   
It was a miracle in it itself that the demon Lord could still stand and were able to find them.   
The snake demon slowly got up on his feet(he noticed it was daytime) while he heard Duman going off on the higher-ranking boss.

“ **That angel was not normal! He looked like an Archangel but have the characteristic as a Cherubim but were fucking glowing like a Seraphim!** ” Dumah snarled “ **we will find them! I am going to snap that angel's neck for mock me like this!** ”

“They are gone,” Crawly said annoyed at Dumah's yelling “the angel is surely miles away now and without the Horseman. How are we supposed to find them?”

“We will find them!” Dumah yelled. He was so angry that he couldn't stand still. 

“you can look for them. That angel knows this place better than any of us, and I am really not in the mood to be burned by that Holy light again,” Crawly said dismissive but in his mind, he did anything to make sure to give Aziraphale as much time to cover their tracks as possible. 

“COWARD!” Dumah roared. Crawly took some steps back since it looked like the other demon was second away from ripping him apart. 

“Enough,” Belial said, bored “we did what comes after. The Horsemen mission was a success.” 

“What now, my lord?” Crawly asked. He didn't like the word 'success' mixed with 'Horsemen.' Something was up, and he was not in the lope, “should we follow the humans?”

Belial looked like she thought about it for a moment.   
“No, a single angel and humans are not worth the time of Hell.”   
with these words, she opened a portal and commanded the two other with him. Crawly had a dreadful feeling that they were the only surviving demons of the bunch who fights under Belial's command. 

-

The three demons returned back to Hell(Belial went over to find some Hellfire there could 'heal' her wounds and Dumah walked away fuming and surely going to find some poor low ranking demons to go off on them) and a few hours later; Crawly went back to Earth.  
His part of the staff of healing was sending him a location. 

Aziraphale wanted him to find them.  
And then he began his journey to find his true family.

-

He crossed the desert without any incidents.

He laughed when he noticed that there was ice on the surface of the Red sea. He knew the angel had made the ice so the humans could cross the sea without problems. He would have loved to see the human's faces when the angel had made them a bridge of ice. 

-

He found them, at nighttime two days later, in a small valley between two mountains and Moses, Aaron and Miriam ran up to him to greet him.   
Aziraphale was smiling big behind the kids.  
Finally, allowing himself to relax between the humans once again, the angel immaterially began to fuss around him to look for bruises or wounds he has caused him.

Crawly enjoyed the attention. 

They ended up grooming each other's wings in private from human eyes to show that they have forgiven each other for what they have been forced to do.

-

The two immortals followed the human group and family to their dissertation and beyond. They watched and protected the group from any danger, but only so long, they stayed close to their kids.

Crawly enjoyed the days were Moses and Aaron kids played with him.   
He sometimes took them up flying.   
Aziraphale always ended up being fussier when he did that.

-

Ages went by, and all of their kids grew grey and old.   
Neither Crawly nor Aziraphale left them. 

Miriam was the first one. She never got a family of her own, but that is was she wanted. Her discoloration was a blessing in disguise for her, and she died in her sleep one night. 

Aaron died a few years later. He was very sick, and on his worst day, Aziraphale took on top of a mountain where he could see the sun one last time. He died without pain in the arm of the angel. 

Moses took his last breath on his own mountain top.  
The two Natoque stayed by his side to his last breath.   
They stayed with him when he was buried beside his siblings, and Moses's family knew that after this, they would never see the two strange beings again.  
They left the two Natoque to grieve at the grave of the humans; they have raised, protected, and loved no other of their species have ever done.

Aziraphale and Crawly knew that when they were done grieving, they were once again forced to leave each other's side and act like enemies once again.   
Although, both of them knew they would always return back to each other, to talk, to enjoy each other's company.   
To share this bond, they have created between each other without either of them fully knowing what this bond meant. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- the story about Adam and Eve are from some stories I found there said that Adam was created from clay(or dirt) from the corner of the world. it said that it was the angels who came with the earth.
> 
> \- I personally call this Sky God, Sumquod. like all the other Gods, I try to make sure they can go under all kinds of names but uses this name I have chosen when they talk to each other.


	18. Playing with Fire

“I think I might have a problem...” the angel Aziraphale mumbled to himself. Ever since Aziraphale find the joy in reading over 150 years ago, he has been collecting scriptures, books, or just anything with written words on it. He already had a fine collection of the Dead sea scrolls and Egyptian papyrus in his small collections.  
Unfortunately, he was beginning to have too many scrolls for a single horse, donkey, or even a camel to carry. The angel has been forced to let his collection stay in one location, and he would move them when he moved.   
The problem was the other angels were beginning to get suspicious of his collections, and they were not fond of history apparently.   
To avoid the eyes of Heaven on him every time he moved, he decided to hide some of his collection right under their noses by hiding some of his oldest items in a hollow in the World tree, although the Hollow was beginning to get a bit small.   
Calling his collecting a hobby might not be the word the demon Crawly would have used.   
He probably used the word “Hoarding.”

And by looking inside his little secret hollow, he might have to give the demon right with that one. 

He might need to find a new and bigger hollow soon. Aziraphale sighed frustrated and lay his last collected scrolls inside the already packed hollow and hide it with covering with leaves. He can't use magic to cover it or it would be noticed by the other angels.   
He stopped his hovering at the hidden hollow and flew off to see if any of the other angels needed his help or want him to do something for them. 

-

Aziraphale flew down to the second sphere of the World tree to see what was going on there and if nothing really happened(which was often) he would either go back to Earth, or he even might go to Anuvina to see the build of the Golden castle he has heard a little about. 

He landed gracefully in the place where most Cherubim stayed and were just about to look around when he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw Kerubiel, who is the leader of all the Cherubim.   
It was also the first angel he ever saw.   
Aziraphale bowed his head to show his respect.

“Kerubiel, what a surprise to see you.”

“Likewise,” Kerubiel didn't say that anyway near a friendly tone, “are you aware of a human item called the Ark of God?”

“I am, I was there when it was built,” Aziraphale answered truthfully. He didn't tell that he raised one of its builders. 

“Then you know where it is?”

“Last I heard it was in Shiloh.”

“Not anymore. A demon named Dagon managed to capture it” Kerubiel was clearly annoyed by this by the look of how his black-orange wing flared. Aziraphale could not see why a demon wanted the Ark. Pretty sure they couldn't even touch it since it was a Holy object “this... Ark has a lot of meaning for humans for some reason.”

“It is said to contain the direct word from God and even gifts from Her.” 

“Does it?” 

“Hard to say, She didn't tell me her plans. She gave us gifts. It would not be hard to see Her do the same to the Human race.”

Kerubiel walked slightly away from Aziraphale. They looked annoyed at what he said. They turned to look at him again with a serious look.

“Find the Ark and bring it to Heaven, no humans should hold something as powerful as Her flames or ideas.” 

“You want me to steal a very important item from the humans?” Aziraphale asked astonished

“It belongs to us, not to them,” they said, “we are her true loyal servants, not those mortals.”

Aziraphale found this absurd. The humans have just as much right to the Ark as any. They build it, and the items inside of it hold a lot of importance to the humans. The angels already talked to Her on a daily basis and hold weapons forge in Her flames and blood. Why in the world should they take these gifts there was(maybe) made by Her or one of the other Creators. 

He didn't say this out loud, though. He was smart enough to know he will not win this fight. 

“I will try and-”

“You **will** find the Ark,” the other cherubim corrected him. He decided just to smile and nod.

“Of course.”

-

Finding this Ark was easier said than done. It took Aziraphale some digging to figure out where it went, and he found the Art in a crusade walking in the direction of Gittite. He noticed the Ark was covered in a white blanket for some unknown reasons.   
Aziraphale felt the presence of another Natoque in the area, and he began to look around to find them. 

“Fancy meeting you here” He looked up and saw the demon in flight. 

“Crawly?” Aziraphale smiled to the demon who landed on the ground and circled up beside him. Both of them looked at the crusade of humans with the Ark. Aziraphale let his wings brush over the demon's. “your lot want the ark too?”

“They want it destroyed. Already killed one unlucky bastard who was under Dagon's command,” Crawly said with a dramatic explosion motion, “heard he put his hand on the thing, and he killed by Holy lightning.”

“Lightning?”

“That was the human said. I wasn't there when it happened. Dagon commanded we let the humans carry it, while we found a way to destroy it” 

“Ah,” the angel said. The crusade began walking away from them. It didn't bother either of them “the angels wanted it for themselves”

“It that so? What do they want with it? Make it into a table or maybe a fancy chest?” Crawly said with a grin. Aziraphale have a feeling he was joking by the tone of his voice, but it was hard to say sometime. The demon looked curious at him “why do they always end up sending you? You are a Guardian angel, not a carrier pigeon.”

“We both already know the answer to your question,” Aziraphale said sadden. He didn't really like talking about the other angels didn't like nor respect him because he didn't look like them. 

Crawly grimaced at his words. The angel knew he still felt guilty of what he did to him as Raphael. He folded his wings out and closer to Aziraphale's wings. The angel folded his own wing out and lay in gently against the demon in a sign he was not mad at the demon. The gesture was enough to Crawly walked a bit closer towards him with a little smile   
“mind if I follow you?”

“Not at all! It would be nice for some company. It has been so long since I last saw you,” Aziraphale said cheerful and stepped away from Crawly to make sure he didn't by accident wack the demon when he folded his wings out to fly. Crawly quickly flew after him with a big grin on his face. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

They followed the crusade and the Ark all the way to the home of a king named David. Crawly has spent some time on around this David person. The other demons didn't care for this since there was no temptation involved, and Crawly was more than happy to tell the angel what he has seen in the last few decades. 

“So this kid- or man as he is now- manage to get all buddy-buddy with some other king named Saul. Hell really likes to mess with that guy for some reason,” Crawly said while both of them were flying above the crusade. 

“He has his own personal demon?” Aziraphale asked, surprised. 

“More or less. Heard from someone else that it is Agrat Bat Mahlat who hangs around them lately.”

“That was quite a mouthful of a name”

“Speak for yourself Aziraphale” Crawly couldn't help but snark back with an amusing grin. The angel gave him a pointy look, but Crawly knew the angel was not really mad at him “anyway this Shepherd-King...David I mean, who is not born royal yet mind you, gets all buddy-buddy with this king.”

“Aha,” Aziraphale nodded. Crawly saw that the eyes on his cheeks were looking at the humans below them. He didn't even bother to do that and began to circle the angel in the air. The eyes in Aziraphale sockets followed him. 

“But then there comes this huuge man; I think he had Nephilim blood in his veins.”

“Had?”

“Oh yeah, he is dead now. Killed by that Shepherd king, I keep talking about.”

“David, yes, yes. how did he manage that?”

“You know, a bit of a demonic miracle,” Crawly wriggle with his fingers to emphasize his point Aziraphale frowned at him. 

“You didn't kill him, didn't you?” Aziraphale accused. He stopped up in the air. Crawly did the same. 

“ **No**. The Shepherd king did,” Crawly shot back and flew in front of the angel. 

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you,” Aziraphale quickly said, “you just made it sound like you were the one helping him.”

“Sorry for yelling at you,” Crawly mumbled and looked down “But he was an asshole and is way too bloodthirsty for my taste.” 

“How do you know all of these things? Did you hear this some other demons?”

“If you want to know. I was paired up with Lilith, who was once part of that Nephilim project. Could be the reason why she wanted the giant warrior killed.” 

Aziraphale gave him a shocked look. 

“Oh dear, that is dreadful. The thought it might be her outspring,” he said quietly. Crawly barely heard what he said because of the wind in the sky, but he got the gist of it and nodded grimly to him. They flew in silence after the humans for a little while, then Aziraphale asked: “so... this David defeat this giant?”

“Wut? Ah yes yes and then he got really popular with the people but then-” Crawly made some hand gesture he himself were not sure what meant “this Saul king guy wanted him killed.”

“Why?”

“Envy, jealousy, fear, anger, demonic temptation. Who knows?” the demon shrugged. It made him nearly drop from the sky because his wings tried to do the same. After some colorful swearing and convincing the angel he was okay, he continued, “the shepherd king ran away, and I didn't see him for a very long time. Then he is suddenly friends with this first king again. Humans a fucking crazy.” 

“No need for such language,” Aziraphale said calmly. He did look a little upset over his first batch of searing words. Crawly gave him a pointy look but decided to have some fun.

“Bloody crazy?”

“No”

“Hellish crazy?”

“No”

”Fucking Bonkers?” 

“I can't win, can't I?” Aziraphale sighed and rolled his eyes hopelessly. He did have a little smile around his lips, though. 

“Nope. Demon after all,” Crawly laughed “where was I? Right! And then the shepherd king was crowned to be a real king after the first king and his son died in battle.”

“What battle?”

“Some battle over some land. I dunno, humans are always fighting over land.”   
Aziraphale only hummed in agreement and both pf them set up speed since the crusade was beginning to get away from them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The two Natoque followed the Ark to Gittite. Aziraphale was unsure how to take the Ark from the humans since it was pretty good guarded(by humans standard), and Crawly was no help at all. He would barely want to be in the same city as the Ark. Before Aziraphale could convince Crawly to help him getting the Ark(“Crawly!” “no way, angel! You have to drag me to get near that deathtrap!” “not even for a favor?” “.... fine. But only so long you don't ask me to touch that thing”), the Ark was again moved to a new city called Zion(which by later years would be better known as Jerusalem), and the two Natoque were on the road again. 

-

In Zion, they saw the Ark again being protected while a temple was built for it. In the meanwhile, Aziraphale tried to come up with a plan to get to the ark without harming any humans while doing so, but that was far harder than anything else. 

“This is impossible,” Aziraphale moaned miserably and delicately(with a hint of frustrating force) put his coal pencil down. He rubs his eyes since they began to hurt a little with him starring at his terrible sketches of plans he tried to make and failed. 

“Looks very complicated,” Crawly said from the bed in the house they have 'borrowed' while they were in Zion. He was playing with his old staff snake, which slither playfully between his fingers by his command. 

“And you no help either” Aziraphale gave him a haughty look there could make milk into cheese. 

“Told you, not going near that demon-killing chest” Crawly returned his look with one of annoyance “you can always ask that Solomon guy give it to you.”

“How?” Aziraphale asked, hopefully. It quickly dimmed when Crawly flapped with one of his wings as a response “no! I refuse- we can't just show our wings to every human we see!”

“And why not?” the demon asked. The staff snake turned into some sort of hoop with he was spinning around one of his fingers “if you show him you are an angel and tell him God has said to you-”

“That would be lying. God never told me to take the Ark.”

“It might be a little lie, but the angels are still Her servants” Aziraphale could not hold a somber grimace back. Crawly noticed, “it is depressing but the truth, angel.”

“I know...” the angel sighed, he looked at his papers and sighed again “I need more time to think this over.”

“Of course,” Crawly rolled out of the bed. The snake was folded around Crawly's ankle. The demon walked towards the door “I am going out. Do you need anything?”

“A good mug of wine and maybe something to eat? cake if you can find it” Aziraphale muttered, still with his nose in his plans of taking the Ark. He didn't see the demon smile fondly at him before walking out. Aziraphale didn't notice either that the demon only returns back after dark with food, nowhere near what was made in this part of the world. Aziraphale took the food happily and finally looked at the demon he was so fond of “thank you.”

Crawly avoided his eyes and mumbled something there could be a “you're welcome” before he went back to the bed to do whatever a demon do after dark. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly was boringly watching humans praying outside a temple. He never fully understood why humans prayed like that and at a certain time during the day.  
He was not sure it was because he didn't fully understand the human culture, or it was because Angles never really prayed like that to Her. 

Humans were weird.

“How curious to see you here, Crawly.” 

The demon in question turned his head annoyed when he heard the owner of the said voice. The other demon was taller and wider than Crawly. Like many other of the Fallen, he used to be a Cherubim, but it was hard to see that lately since he didn't have multiple eyes anymore, but he kept steel wings (which were a yellowish sandy color) and built of his former race. He now has an unnatural reddish skin tone and black scales on arms and feet like a bird. His eyes were piercing blue, and Crawly have a feeling it was all there was left of his angelic form.

“Likewise. Asmodeus,” Crawly said in a bored tone to the bigger demon. Asmodeus grinned while he hovered over him. Crawly heard a second demon land on his other side, and he turned(in a dramatic bored demeanor) to look at who that was.  
It was a smaller demon with blackish to brownish skin and wing tone. She was still quite beautiful but have the same vibe as a dark forest or an abandoned house. Her single Archangel's wings have been clipped, and she has been giving some new ones in the form of batwings by Samael himself. She was incredibly loyal to Satan at such a rate that even the humans have noticed it and began to say that saw was the daughter of the Boss demon. 

It was the only 'funny' thing about her in Crawly's mind 

“Agrat Bat Mahlat,” he said, her full name as a greeting.

“Agrat is fine, little snake,” she said, and she stepped for too close to Crawly that it was enough to him showing his teeth in warning. She didn't step back but grinned the same grin as Asmodeus.

“Right,” he purposely pushed her away to gain some of his personal space, “what brings you two to this place?”

“The same as you. Here to tempt the king,” Asmodeus said, and he too stepped way too close to Crawly “might want to join us? You are seen as the first tempter, after all.”

“I'm...” Crawly barely hold down a growl. He really didn't like the Lust demons. Always so pushy and didn't know the idea of personal space. He pushed the bigger demon away from him with his wings “-not very good the seducing art of tempting”

“Speaking of seducing,” Asmodeus put his scaly arms around him, “heard the big boss wanted you to tempt an angel. Tell me, how are you doing that?”

“Ngk” Crawly squirmed out of the bigger demons grip, avoided both of the two other demons' hands and wings, and straighten himself off to look more opposing to the two Lust demons “it is hard to tempt something there is so freakish holy.”

“We fall, can't be that hard to make that holy little angel to do that same” Agrat laughed and flapped her bat wings to emphasis her point.   
  
“It is very hard. Takes a lot of patience and ingenuity,” Crawly said. He knew none of those two had that. 

“Why not let us take a bite out of this angel? Maybe we can wear him a bit out for you,” Agrat said and let her hands glide down her chest and down seductively. Might have made a male human hot and bothered by that type of display. It didn't do a thing for Crawly, who just bared his teeth at her. 

“If you know what we mean,” Asmodeus said with a terrifying lick around his mouth. 

“I don't **need** your... help” Crawly hissed the last word like it was something nasty he has seen in the sewer and was told to pick it up “or whatever you are calling that you are doing.”

“Suit yourself, Crawly,” Agrat said with a carefree shrug. This was just a game for her, “but if you need some... humane fun. You know-”

“I don't want anything either of you is giving out,” Crawly cuts her off. Agrat rolls her eyes like he was being dramatic for no reason and flew off. Asmodeus lingered with a hungry look at Crawly.

“Pity. You do have a nice body for this type of work,” he said before flying off with Agrat. 

Crawly could not hold back an disgusted hiss at them both.   
He waited a little moment to make sure they were gone before he flew back to the household he was currently sharing with the angel. He landed a bit harder than expected on the ground in an alley near the house. He metamorphoses his wings away before running toward the entrance.

“Yo Aziraphale!” he called even before he was inside. Aziraphale was standing in the middle of the room with a piece of paper in his hand. 

“Yo?” Aziraphale looked very confused about that word and looked like he has forgotten the paper in his hand for a moment. 

“Forget that, you better leave town,” Crawly said quickly and stormed over to collect Aziraphale things for travel. He didn't know what paper he needed or didn't, so he just scoped them all up in a bundle “two new demons have made their appearance, and those two are **nasty**.”

“Nasty in what way?” Aziraphale asked. He didn't move. 

“Lust demons,” Crawly explained and lay the angel's scrolls carefully on the table, “tempt married people to sleep with them or give them what they desire most. Nasty business if you ask me,” he finished to make the papers travel-ready and walked over to the bed to see he missed somethings “they know you are in an area, and I am not standing around and letting them get near you. Help me pack your things, and we are-”

“I.... can't,” Aziraphale said slowly. The demon turned frustrated around.

“Oh, for Satan's sake! Forget about the Ark, you can always try and take it later or something, but right now you need to-”   
he stopped up his rant when Aziraphale showed him the paper he was holding. It was not really paper. It was made out of magic.

Which means it came from...

“....As I said Crawly... I really can't leave,” Aziraphale said somberly “Heaven wants me to protect the Ark no matter the cost.”

“They want you to- Are they FUCKING **CRAZY?!?!** ”

“Crawly!”

“Don't 'Crawly' me Aziraphale! Do the other angels even **know** what you are **up against?!** ” Crawly wanted to shake somebody, but the only one in the room was Aziraphale, so he ended up throwing his arms up in the air “did you not hear me at first?! There are **two** demons, TWO! And Asmodeus is a prince of Hell. **PRINCE** , AZIRAPHALE!”

“I have no choice!” Aziraphale yelled back, still not as high as the demon “as you said; I am a servant of Heaven!”

“Aziraphale-”

“No! This is my duty, and I am told to banish these demons,” the angel walked away from him and toward the door. Probably to 'borrow' a sword from a human somewhere in the city, “you can't interfere in this.”

“It was your duty to kill me too,” Crawly knew it was a low blow, but he needed the angel to be safe. He would not be safe by walking toward the two other demons in the city. Aziraphale flinched, and a guilty look runs over his face again. He looked away with small tears in his eyes.   
Crawly didn't know what to do since he was still fuming over this idiocy, so he ended up just standing around like an idiot.   
With a prolonged sigh; Aziraphale said with guilt dripping from every word;

“.... I was... and still am unable to harm your body because of my own feelings for you...I kissed you, Crawly”

“you kissed...” Crawly asked, confused, and then it hit him. Hard. “....you blessed me? **You fucking blessed me?** ”

The guilt in the angel's eyes told him everything.

Natoque only blessed or cursed lower species like humans. When Crawly was Raphael, he knew a blessing to another angel was a taboo, and the one blessing they did with their lips was the biggest no-no but unheard of; the Natoque could not feel any affection towards each other, after all. 

What Aziraphale have done was not just a taboo anymore since Crawly was not an angel anymore. If the other angels knew about this, they would not just cast him out of heaven and clip him. 

They will kill him. 

Aziraphale have just damned himself by blessing Crawly. 

“You stupid fool... why did you do that” Crawly whispered to him, his heartfelt too big for his body. He felt trapped “why did you do something so foolish?”

“I didn't... I didn't know you were Raphael,” Aziraphale said. Tears began to fall from his eyes.

“it doesn't make a difference. **You blessed a demon**. You knew I am a demon when you did it,” Crawly said earnest, “why Aziraphale, why did you do it?”

“Because I love you.”

Silence.

Aziraphale breathes slowly, still with tears in his eyes and wings close to his back.  
Crawly looked at him in chock. Eyes wide and wings close to the ground.

“Aziraphale... I know you like me, but this-” Crawly spread his arms out in a 'look at me' manner “you are putting yourself in danger for my sake. It is not worth-”

“Why would you say such a thing?!” the angel cried and walked up to hold on to him with a tight grip on his chest clothing “with everything we have been through together!”

“Raising our human kids were not the same!” Crawly shoot back. His hand landed on the back of the angel's head and made him look into his eyes, “you blessed a demon! If the other angels hear about this, they are going to kill you! I was and still not worth that type of risk!”   
Crawly's own thoughts were cruel enough to make him remember when he was Raphael, and he used Aziraphale's feelings against him. If he was the same Natoque as before his fall, He would not have cared for the angel's feelings and would have tossed him into Samael's grabs without a second thought. 

Aziraphale glared back at Crawly with only the hint of tears in his sky-blue eyes  
“What do you want me to do? Remove the blessing?”

“YES!” Crawly shouted. A beat of silence surrounded them. Both Natoque glared at each other, waiting for the other to speak or break first. 

“I won't,” Aziraphale whispered seriously. He lifted his wings up and held them close to the demon, almost in a mantle gesture. Crawly realized the angel was protecting him from the unknown “I love you, Crawly.” 

“For Heaven's sake, just stop this. Angel... We can talk about that later. Right now you need to leave the town. You won't win against both of them, they are too strong,” Crawly urged desperately, and he let his own wings fold around his angel to protect him from the danger he already knew the name off. He even hugged the angel closer to tell him how he is serious “I can look after the deathtrap until the coast is clear, but I can't watch you getting near those two, and I don't care what Heaven say”

“... I know...” Aziraphale said with a hollow voice, and he gently pushed the demon a little away from him. Crawly was confused over the sudden change of demeanor, and he knew something was up when he saw the sky-blue eyes have turned hard and obedient “forgive me for this.”

“For wha-?”   
the angel grabbed the back of his neck hard and held his other hand over his eyes. Aziraphale have the strength like a Cherubim and took Crawly by surprise, so he had no chance of fighting it when he felt the angel was putting him to sleep.  
He desperately tried to fight against it.

“Shhh, it's okay... it's okay” he heard Aziraphale's voice like it was miles away. He felt the angel gently hold him but didn't stop what he was doing “I can't leave, my dear. This was a direct order.”  
before the magical sleep took him, he felt the angel's lips on his forehead and a second blessing were giving to him.   
Then everything went black.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale walked around Zion briskly in the search for the two demons. He knew it was best he kept a low profile, and when he found the two demons, he needed to get them out of town as fast as possible.   
Aziraphale used his own magic to search for any demonic aura while walking in the streets of Zion. He could feel the auras of three other Natoque, he ignore the aura he walked away from. He knew seaching openly for auras was dangerous to do this since this type of magic worked both ways, he could feel them, and they could feel him searching for him. The angel walked into a richer part of town where he found one of the demons hanging over an older man — surely trying to seduce him. 

The female-looking demon was smaller than him with a sun-kissed skin tone. The hair was a darker brown.   
He could see the outline of odd wings there were invisible to human eyes.   
Aziraphale wrinkled his nose at what the she-demon was doing. Before the man could be lured into sins, Aziraphale cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. The man immaterially looked guilty.

“ _I think it is best you are going home to your family, good sir,_ ” Aziraphale said with a little smile, even though his eyes stayed cold. The man quickly ran off, leaving a very annoyed demon behind. 

“You should have stayed out of that, Angel,” the small demon said. A malice smile slowly appeared around her lips. 

“you know I can't do that.”

“Of course,” the she-demon came up on her feet. Aziraphale felt his stomach drop when he noticed the hidden bat wings and looked shocked at the demon who grinned “like them? Satan gave them to me after Heaven cut off mine.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, that sounds terrible dreadful,” Aziraphale said honestly. He still remembered the terrible scars on Crawly's back, and he was pretty sure the smaller demon have those too under the new bat wings. 

“You're... sorry?” The she-demon looked absolutely confused at his to apologize. She didn't get the same glint in their black eyes as Crawly did when they first met, though. 

“I am. Nobody deserves that kind of treatment,” Aziraphale blinked, confused when the demon began to laugh. Not a normal happy laugh. More a laugh of manic confusion and realization. 

“I can see why that fool has trouble with you,” she said with a wide smirk, there was way too big for any human. She looked at Aziraphale with a hungry look, “do you want something similar? I can arrange that.”

“No, that-” the angel cuts himself off when the smaller demon suddenly went after him. She was clearly aiming after his back. Aziraphale yelped in pain and shock when the demon slashed his arm and part of his back where his wings were hidden. She turned in the air and slashed his back once again.   
He knew the demon tried to provoke him to materialized his wings, but he did not fall into that trap.

Instead, he went into deference and showed the sword he had hidden in his clothing and parry the third attack from the demon.  
“A Rulers are ya?” the demon laughed at him in surprise.

“Principality actually,” he said and pushed the demon away from him. Aziraphale noticed their battle had drawn an audience.  
“I think it is best we take this battle elsewhere,” he said and snapped his fingers, he blitzed both of them outside the city. 

“you are an idiot! You made it easier for me to kill you!” the she-demon laughed and turned into a demonic bat. Aziraphale noticed that their demonic form still had some feather in the fur. They screeched at him like they already won.   
The angel clicked his tongue in disapproval and turned into his own celestial body, which was far bigger and more powerful looking than the bat.

Aziraphale's celestial glow was nearly enough for the Bat demon to submit and just as he thought he had the upper hand. Something big collided with him and tossed him to the ground. Grimacing in pain with the impact with the ground, he looked up and saw the second demon in the sky in their demonic form, which has three heads and a body like a dragon. He was far bigger than Aziraphale, and he knew this was the Prince of Hell Crawly warned him about.   
The angel came up on his feet again and flew up in the air to meet the new demon. 

“ **Never seen you before. Very beautiful plume,** ” Asmodeus said with a grin in his abyssal form. 

“ **I was born after the Rebellion** ” Aziraphale flew up in the air again to meet the King in battle and he could barely hold a disgusted grimace back at how much this demon oozed of male hormones.

“ **That explains a lot** ,” the bigger demon purred and flew closer to him, “ **what is your name?** ”

“ **Azi- Raphael,** ” he quickly corrected himself. Aziraphale found it better not to use his real name to a bunch of terrible mannered demons. 

“ **Raphael? He is a Seraphim,** ” the smaller demon laughed high-pitched and clearly looked up and down at him like he were some joke. 

“ **Not anymore,** ” Aziraphale said coldly with his celestial voice of thousand bells “ **I command you two foul beast to leave this city.** ”

“ **And if we refuse?** ” Asmodeus grinned with all tree of his abyssal heads. His grin and hungry look were beginning to freak Aziraphale out. 

“ **Then I have to smite you,** ” he said a bit too quickly. The two demons laughed. 

“ **You are cute when you try to be angry** ” the bigger demon purred

“ **I will never let myself being touch by Satan or those who are loyal to him.** ” Aziraphale bristled.

“ **Pity you think that** ” Asmodeus grinned and flew over Aziraphale, so he was forced to look up. Surely a power-move by the demon “ **because I would enjoy putting my hand on those pretty feathers** ” with those words, he attacked Aziraphale, and it was clear he wanted to pluck him more than he wanted to harm him. Aziraphale did everything in his power to stop the far bigger Natoque from plucking his precious flight feathers or ripping his plume off him together with large part of his skin. The bat demon went after his neck, surely going after the throat. 

All Natoque with the block in their brain has no self-perseverance, which meant that the smaller bat demon soon falls to the ground with major burns around their face, feet, and legs due to Aziraphale's body emitted a Holy light as a defends. This light was not enough against the bigger demon who have far better skin defends than the bat demon, and he did heavy damage to the angel's body. Everything hurts and Aziraphale was bleeding bad. Aziraphale managed to slightly blind one of Asmodeus' head and giving him some nasty claw marks on the chest. It didn't look like it bothers the bigger demon, it looks more like it excited him. 

“ **I love your spunk,** ” he said with a hungry look in his eyes. For some reason, he tried to get behind Aziraphale, but the angel keeps turning to face him. He blitzed behind Aziraphale lightning-fast “ **let us see what else you can do with that body”** he grabbed Aziraphale hard around the back of his neck and forced him to the ground. Aziraphale was pinned, and one of Asmodeus' head whispered lustfully into his ear, “ **now stay down there while I take really good care of you.** ” 

Aziraphale reacted immaterially. 

“ **Over my dead body!** ” he yelled and transformed back to his angelic form, which clearly surprised the bigger demon. Aziraphale then glared coldly at Asmodeus and snapped his fingers. He was opening a portal under the demon.  
Only a surprised yelp came from Asmodeus' lips before he fell through, and the portal closed behind him on the angel's command.   
Aziraphale might look cool and collecting, but his eyes were betraying him on how terrified and disgusted he was on the bigger demon's actions and words. 

“ **What did you do?!** ” the smaller demon yelled at him. she was still trying to get up on her feet to continue the former battle but was too hurt in doing that. Aziraphale has completely forgotten about her for a moment. 

“I send him where he belongs,” the angel told her simply. He has opened the portal inside a pyramid. He has only seen some parts of the inside of the said pyramid, but he was more than confident that the bigger demon would have trouble finding his way out. “I'm sure he won't be able to blitz out there for a while.”

Blitzing only worked for a Natoque so long they have been in the area before or had some sort of coordinate to tell them where to go. A Natoque could not travel to a place via blitzing or Portals if they have no map or memory at the place. He was sure the bigger demon has never been inside a pyramid, so unless he would end up as a wall decoration, he has to walk out of the labyrinth of the Pyramid. 

“ **You will pay for that, you hear?! PAY!** ” the Bat demon screeched at him ad tried to attack him again, but it was clear it was a lost cause since they were badly hurt by Aziraphale's holy light. Still glaring at him, she opened a portal and went back to Hell. 

Not even a second after the bat demon was gone, Aziraphale collapsed to the ground due to blood loss, major wounds on his body, and barely have any magical energy left. Aziraphale knew he might not survive this because he didn't have the energy to heal himself. 

He did hear someone runs up to him, but he was too weak to hide his angelic appearance to the stranger. 

His last thoughts were on Crawly before his world turned black. 

-

Aziraphale woke up underwater. Natoque's magic prevented them from dying of a lot of this, so the angel was not afraid of drowning, but it was still uncomfortable to wake up underwater. He couldn't swim, so he ended up walking to the shallow end of the pool he was placed into. Above water, he saw Crawly sitting carefree close to the water.

“Crawly... I-”

“ _ **Guess again,**_ ” Crawly said with a confident smirk. It was first now Aziraphale notice the eye color was wrong. Instead of golden, they were toxic green. Everything else looked exactly like Crawly. Not-Crawly tipped his head like a curious lion “ _ **legends is a strange little thing Aziraphale. Legends come from things the mortal have no explanation for,**_ ” he told and pointed at the water Aziraphale still were knee-deep in “ _ **like this place, it will later have a legend about an angel who stirs the water at the healing pool of Bethesda.**_ ”  
  
“Who... are you?” Aziraphale asked slowly. Not-Crawly's grin turned wider.

“ _ **I am Destiny, and I am Fate.**_ ” not-Crawly said in the same dramatic tone as Crawly would. It was kinda disturbing for the angel, “ _ **I am Chaos and the Chosen path.**_ ”

“You are a Creator,” Aziraphale concluded. No Natoque were able to look like each other like as much as this being could do. The Creator clapped their hands as he congratulated him. 

“ _ **You are a clever little one. I give you that**_ ” the Creator who looked like Crawly said " _ **your friend Crawly is okay. Zhey was the one who found you and took you to this place. I just wanted to have a little chat with you before I skedaddle.**_ ” 

not-Crawly stood up and began to walk away. They even had his sauntering walking right.

“Wait!” Aziraphale called after them and quickly got up from the water. Thankfully not-Crawly stopped up to look at him curiously “please, your lot knows nearly everything; can you tell me why I am different than the other angels?”

“ _ **because of the great plan of course,**_ ” not-Crawly said with a little cast with their head " _ **My sister wanted Natoque who could think on their own and there should have been more of your kind, but the Fallen had other plans**_ "

“Oh...” Aziraphale said slowly, not fully sure why God wanted more of his kind in the first place since all the other angels hated him with a passion and he were not as strong as the rest of them. He was just about to say thanks for the information when he realized he was alone at the pool. Aziraphale looked confused around and saw them walked towards him briskly. 

“Aziraphale!” he realized that this was the real Crawly who ran over to him. Before the angel could say anything(like 'sorry for forcing you to take a nap' came to mind), the demon hugged him with the same force as a thunderclap “for a second; I thought you were a goner. I looked everywhere for you after you left the house.”

Aziraphale smiled guiltily to him. A lot of time most have passed since the demon didn't yell at him. Crawly let go of him, and the angel noticed something;  
“that is some new clothing you got there. how long was I out?”

“ehhh... around 300 years,” Crawly looked uncomfortable at telling him this “Darlain told they would keep an eye out for you while Hell sends me on some assignment in Greece and Rome. I did such a job well done that the locals began to call me Hermes. Can you believe that?” 

“Not a terrible name,” Aziraphale shrugged neutrally. 

“Doesn't fit me,” Crawly huffed. A beat of silence, then the demon looked guilty for some reason, “the ehh... Ark is gone too. I lost track of it while I was in Greece, and eh..” 

“Oh... well, not really none of our faults then,” Aziraphale said calmly. He didn't want the other angels to get their fingers in the Ark in the first place(still thinks its content belongs to the human no matter what it is), and he had a valid reason why he lost it. Crawly looked extremely relieved, he most have brooded over this for decades. Aziraphale brushed his wing over Crawly's to tell him to relax, the demon soaked up the attention “by the way, Darlain- it that you called them?- told me that you found me after the battle with the two demons?” 

“I did” Crawly scratched his left arm for some reason “you were in a real bad shape when I found you, so I took you directly to this place and stole some cheap Holy water from the humans.”

“They have Holy water?” Aziraphale asked astonished and looked at the water. He felt his heart skipped at least three beats when he realized something;  
nearly snapping his neck in the process; he looked horrified at Crawly's arm. 

“Your lot told them how to do a cheap version. Can't kill a demon but still hurt like hell.”  
the demon tried to hide his hands, but the angel did not let him.

“Crawly, Your hands!” Aziraphale gasped when he saw the acid burn on the demon's hands. His right hand looked terrible and barely have any skin on it. 

' If this is what the human-made can do to a demon... I dread to think what Angel made can do, ' Aziraphale thought with a dreadful feeling in his stomach.

“It's nothin-Auv!” Crawly yelped when the angel began to heal the wounds. His healing was holy, so it much stings a lot. Aziraphale muttered a whole cascade of 'sorry' and went slower with his healing. 

“You didn't have to do that,” Aziraphale said sadden at the conditions the hands of the demons were in. It took at least ten minutes before Aziraphale stopped his healing. He will never be fully able to heal the hands, but at least the scars were only noticeable in a certain light, so that was good. “I am more in your way than anything.”

Crawly flexed his hands while giving him a look  
“We both know that is not the truth” 

“Let's not talk about it,” the angel said and looked away from the demon. Crawly mumbled something there could sound like a 'sure,' and they both left the pool of now holy water. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly stayed close to the angel for a little while. He only left to do his job since his hands still hurt a little after touching Holy water.

He made a mental note to think at least three steps ahead before doing something that stupid again.

He was glad to hear Aziraphale did not get in too much trouble for the whole Ark thing. What the angel told him the other angels were only 'disappointing that he didn't do a better job' in some note he got.

Crawly snarled some creative words on where they could shove those notes.

Aziraphale both looked horrified and amused at him for saying those things. 

-

The demon didn't stay with the angel all the time. It would be too suspicious, and his side did not send rude notes. Through the years, he noticed that he and Aziraphale were coincidentally sent to many of the same missions.   
Like the time where he found the angel in Babylon under the reign of some king called Sennacherib. The king ruin more of his country than helping it. He didn't go over and chat with Aziraphale since he was in company with Uriel and Micheal.   
He left the area(when he saw another demon called Furtur began to mess with things and ended up pissing off two of the angels) and then later heard that the war-mongrel king died, and the people welcome his death as a 'divine punishment' for destroying the city of Babylon.

' well, they were not wrong,' Crawly thought when he heard the news.

-

Some years later, the angel comes to him and asks him for a favor, which concerns his newest assignment as Raphael. Crawly decided to accompany the angel instead of a favor. It has been ages since they last talked with each other.   
The assignment was pretty simple. Make sure some dude and girl got laid and banish the demon responsibly.   
To both of their annoyance, it was that creep Asmodeus who killed that poor girl's earlier husbands before the wedding night. 

“It is very important for Heaven, she and this boy Tobias has a child together,” Aziraphale told him while they sat with the said boy who has caught a giant fish in the river near them. He was preparing this fish while the two immortals talked in their 'human' disguises   
“the Creator said that this child would be the ancestor to some influential people in the long-distance future.” 

Crawly only nodded in response and looked at the near-sighted kid who (again) got his foot stuck in the dead fish mouth. 

They went to Tobias's future wife's home, and Aziraphale did found the Lust demon nearby. Aziraphale asked for Crawly's help for banishing the pissed off Asmodeus(he clearly didn't like his over 300 years walk inside a pyramid), and Crawly told he wanted the angel to heal or at least improve Tobias terrible eyesight, so he stopped, walking, into everything and anyone.   
That anyone was himself.   
With that out of the way, Crawly ended up distracting Asmodeus by 'ranting' about Aziraphale, and the stupid Lust demon never saw it coming when Aziraphale(again) send him inside a new pyramid.

Centuries later; Asmodeus(who have gotten a big case of claustrophobic ever since he got over of the second pyramid) would demand what happened to Crawly that day and Crawly would down-right lie that he was sent into a Burial mound (in the not yet named Norway) where he was stuck for around 100 years. Asmodeus didn't speak to him about it ever again.

After all that was done, Crawly got a new assignment in South America and stayed there for quite some time, and since he was a bit of a social demon, he ended up with yet another new nickname, which was Quetzalcoatl.  
At some time, he got tired of the jungle and traveled further up north, and to his surprise, he found Aziraphale, who was hanging out with some Native American.   
He was apparently known as Bakhtiar for these people.   
Both of them ended up traveling up and down the two continents for a few centuries. 

-

A handful of times, Crawly managed to convince Aziraphale to come to Anuvina. The angel was a bit unsure since that planet was considered as demon territory by the angels, but Crawly was glad he kept asking Aziraphale and showed him the Golden castle where the angel nearly exploded of excitement since that giant castle was one big library.   
He could barely get Aziraphale out of that place again, but he was glad to see the angel happy. 

-

Around 250 BC(he learned that later in his life), Crawly was sent to Alexandria to tempt some high ranking people to sin, and he, by accident, ran into Aziraphale, who was with some scholars.  
He left his assignment alone(for now) and walked over to see what the angel was up to. 

“I thought I smelled an angel nearby,” Crawly said playfully while he circled Aziraphale. 

“You can smell angels?” Aziraphale as his greeting. He looked very confused and took a sniff of himself to make sure he didn't smell bad. 

“suure, you lot smell like,” he thought for a moment with a smile “clouds and sunlight.”

“Liar. We both know none of those things are in Heaven,” Aziraphale said primly, he looked a bit concern at his arm “I don't smell like tree sap, or mold do I?”

“Noo. you smell like paper and-” he sniffed to be sure, “for some reason, you also smell like apple and grape?”

“Ehm..” Aziraphale looked bashfully at the ground and held the papers he had in hand a bit better “I might get a bit hungry before I got here.”

“Ah,” the demon chuckled and took a closer look at the paper in the angel's arm “find out there was a big bloody library here in town?”

“Oh, did I” Aziraphale wriggle excited and began to tell all of the things he found inside the library. Crawly decided to walk with him to the library even though he wasn't that fond of reading. He did read from time to time. But only about things there interested him. Everything else he didn't touch.   
Even though he didn't read that much, he didn't mind listening to the angel blabbering about everything he found inside the library and how he had 'made copies' of some of the work he loved best. 

“Consider moving in here?” he asked playfully and took on off the papyrus the angel was holding to look at it.

“I don't think the human would like that,” Aziraphale said seriously. He looked over his back to see what he took. 

“No house ghost here to kick you out,” Crawly joked ( he remembered fondly the time Aziraphale tried to stay in the Golden castle library after closing time, and the ghost of the castle told him to leave by throwing a fucking statue him. Crawly have laughed at the display until he, too, was chased out by a psycho poltergeist. Neither of them has ever flown that fast before), he gave the papyrus back to the angel since he looked far more interested in what it said than he was. “why do you love to read so much, Angel?”

“It silly,” Aziraphale said while he neatly put the scrolls back to their rightful place. 

“It doesn't matter if it is silly,” Crawly said genuinely. The angel thought about it for a moment before sighing and began; 

“I once went into the hall of scriptures before you- well, before you fall,” Aziraphale looked a bit guilty to bringing that up. Crawly waved his hand to tell him to continue “wanted to find some information about the creatures we tried to save and did you know what I found” he puts the next scroll a bit hard onto its place “only one tablet, and it told me that animals are stupid creatures and that's it. I looked on at least 100 tablets, and then I realized” he looked at Crawly “we don't have any history... sure we have the rebellion as part of our history, but we have nothing else. we forgot where we came from, and we forgot how to be a real society.” 

“Demons cannot be part of that society,” Crawly said and took another scroll from the angel. Aziraphale lay his hand on Crawly's terrible tenderly. 

“You are part of our history. Demons were once angels, and it not fair to write your lot off as 'kill on sight' type of people. I still think there is hope for all of us” Crawly have to look away from that, but the little hope of rising stayed in his lost soul “we should be able to know why Angels turned fallen, why we are what we are” Aziraphale sighed and looked at the papyrus around him with a deep understanding in his blue eyes “we should not forget the past, we should learn from it.”

“We only got to see the world as it really is when we re-learn our history,” Crawly mumbled. He was not really looking at the papyrus around him “humans have a habit of writing and speaking about their history or just telling some crazy stories.”

“Yes. I read Earth's and Anuvina's books because we don't have our own,” Aziraphale said honestly, “and we never will so long so many of us are blind.”

“Yeah,” Crawly muttered. He knew it might never happen since when Crawly just hinted at their forgotten history to the angels; they cut off two of his wings and made him Fall. He still shivered that the thought and his back did hurt a bit too, thinking about his Fall. He looked at the Angel, who already has his nose into a new scroll. A clear sign the angel was too busy to be social anymore “need to head off, got some tempting to do,” he said before walking away. He could always come back later.

“Try not to hurt anyone,” Aziraphale called back.

“Demon, Angel. Demon” Crawly waved over his head towards the angel and walked over like he owned the place.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Planet Earth**

**Year 48 bc**

**Alexandria**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale didn't know how many years have passed by while he spent most of his time inside the library, but by what Crawly told him, he has at least stayed around this gold mine of information at least 200 years.   
The angel sat in his own little corner of the place where he, in secretive, made his own copy of his personal favorite. He didn't want to take the scrolls from others, but he couldn't stand the thought he could not have some of these scrolls for himself.   
He hummed a little melody of a song he has heard out in the city the rare times where his lovely demon manages to drag him outside the library. 

Aziraphale lifted his head when he heard screaming outside. It was unfortunate a common thing hearing lately due to the civil war of the country. He hesitated a little before he raised up from his chair and walked over to one of the windows to look out what all commotions were about. 

He gasped in horror when he saw fire outside the library, and it was running up on the building fast.   
Without thinking, Aziraphale materialized his wings and used his magic to stop the fire.   
To his great relief, he saw that he saved the precious scrolls from burning. 

Until he saw a demon just outside the window near him, and it was differently not Crawly. It was the Bat demon. 

She looked at him with an amusing smirk to see him holding fire back from the scrolls. Aziraphale glared at her, warning the demon not to do anything stupid.   
But blind Natoque has no self-perseverance.

She attacked him, and his concentration on holding fire back falter. The fire spread around them both. Burning Aziraphale's feathers and destroying the papers around them. Aziraphale desperately tried to end the battle as quickly as possible in the hope he could save some of the burning libraries, but the bat demon kept attacking him no matter what he did. 

She would fight until one of them was dead. 

Aziraphale barely holds back a cry of pain when a pillar of fire hit him. He looked around to find her, but the only thing he saw was the whole library burning.   
All the scrolls were burning, and he would lose this battle if he stayed here.  
The angel yelled in frustration over the loss of the library before he finally spread out his wings and flew directly through the roof to escape the fire. 

His wings were still burning.

Aziraphale saw the bat demon inside the fire, and she looked hungry up at him. Like a bat from(literally) hell, she flew up after him. 

The fire had not harmed her.

Aziraphale knew he would lose this battle(due to his burns) if he kept this up, so he decided to flee and fight another battle. He flew away from the burning city and the bat as fast as he could. 

His mind was too disoriented due to smoke inhalation to him being able to blitz without hurting himself in the process.   
He instead decided to use his staff of healing ring to call for help. 

Just as the staff ring began to glow, he felt the most excruciating pain in his thigh.   
He felt like he was burning alive. 

The Bat demon has bitten him, and she was emitting Hellfire from her mouth. 

Aziraphale was blinded by pain, and yet he still tried to get her off. He felt the fire spread in his body. He felt his body grew weaker and weaker. 

Until 

His body gave up.

And darkness took him. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly saw it happened. 

He saw Agrat bite Aziraphale, and the angel fights for a little moment before he went slack. 

He was in the air within seconds in his abyssal form and literately ripped Agrat off Aziraphale. Agrat was falling back to the fire of the library while Crawly quickly turned back to his demonic form and caught the falling Aziraphale. He quickly landed on a roof nearby and looked over his precious angel. 

He was still alive, but barely.   
The Hellfire will have killed him on the spot if she has bitten him in the head or chest area.   
He saw how the bite mark Agrat has given him in her abyssal form have left a mark there slowly burned Aziraphale inside out.   
Crawly felt bile in his mouth, watching his only friend slowly die. 

Desperate, he put his hands over the wound and demanded the fire to return to him. Aziraphale whimpered weakling in pain, but he did not stop his exorcism of the Hellfire before it was all out. 

Aziraphale was safe... for now. 

Crawly slowly turned his head toward the other demon who came flying over to him.   
His serpentine eyes were burning in rage toward the other demon.

“ **You... you save an angel?** ” Agrat asked, confused. Her confusion turned into anger “ **you fucking traitor, just you wai-** ”

She never manages to say more since Crawly has turned into his Abyssal form again and snapped his jaws around her head and his tail around her body. She never manages to yell in pain, not even a gasp of the shock of him attacking her before he ripped her head clean off her body.   
Still holding the mangled body, he used his own Hellfire to burn up the body so nobody could ever know that it was another demon who killed her. 

No body.  
No evidence.

Crawly turned back to his demonic form and flew back to Aziraphale, who, to his horror, was not alone. Beside him kneel an Angel of Death. 

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!” Crawled snarled. The Death angel quickly flew away but still stayed nearby like some overgrown silver-black vulture. The demon quickly put his whole body over Aziraphale and mantle his wings to show he meant business. 

“He is not breathing,” the silver-haired Death angel said. Crawly knew she was the leader of the death angels, Azrael.   
Crawly quickly looked down at Aziraphale and saw Azrael spoke the truth. Without thinking, he put both of his hands on Aziraphale's chest, where he knew his Grace was located, and demanded Life return back to him. 

Aziraphale gasped once, and he breathes normally again. He was still unconscious and probably still in pain, but at least he was alive.   
Crawly breath a sigh of relief that he was able to do that, and he looked back at the Death angel. 

Azrael looked like she had an existential crisis in what she just witness. She blinked a few times, and then her eyes were able to see.   
She looked confused at the demon. Like she saw him for the first time.

Crawly kept starring at her, while still protecting Aziraphale. 

“How did you do that?” Azrael finally said like she couldn't believe her own eyes. 

“put my mind into it” Crawly pointed out, “you are not going to smite me?”

“I am not sure of anything anymore,” the death angel said honestly. She didn't even have her scythe around at the moment. Her midnight eyes glanced at the unconscious Aziraphale. She looked unsure of the whole situation, but she still asked: “can you fly with them?”

“of course I can. I am not leaving him,” Crawly huffed. Azrael nodded and looked at him while he gently lifted Aziraphale up in his arms in a bridal style. He noted the angels burned wings dragged on the ground, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Azrael walked over to him but stopped when Crawly growled in warning. 

Even though he was a fallen, he still was a Seraphim against an Archangel. The Death angel slowly holds Aziraphale's wings and tugged them gently under Crawly's hands.   
She did not slip the eye contact she had with the demon, but she blinked a lot more than Crawly. After Aziraphale's wings were secured in Crawly's arms he looked suspicious at Azrael;

“Why are you helping me?”

“Part of me always wanted to soothe the souls I take,” Azrael said. Even though her robe's hood hides most of the top of her face, it was still clear the Archangel has a confused frown on her face. It was clear it was pointed toward herself, “for once I want to save a life. Not take it.”

The Death angel made a head nod to tell the demon to follow her up in the air. Crawly spread his own blacken wings out and followed the other angel from an arm's length away. He still didn't fully trust the newly seeing angel. 

They flew in silence for a long while.   
It was only when Azrael told him to land outside the city, he decided to ask;  
“Azrael, do you even know what happened to you?” the Death angel shakes her head “all of us, demons and angels, have this block in our brain there prevent us from thinking on our own.” 

“How did you get out of it?” Azrael asked while she checked Aziraphale's wings. Crawly kept a very sharp eye on her.

“Same way as you. I was shown the truth,” he said. Azrael lets go of Aziraphale's wings with a frown, “can you save him?”

“His wounds are terrible big. I have to take him back to Heaven,” Azrael said. She opened a portal surely back to the World Tree.

“Make sure the other doesn't kill him. He means a lot to me,” Crawly warned while he slowly handed Azrael a still unconscious Aziraphale. The Death Archangel looked from Aziraphale to Crawly and then back again.

“I don't understand,” Azrael admitted.

“It doesn't matter you understand or not. Just make sure he will survive,” Crawly said seriously to her. The Death angel nodded and was just about to enter the portal when Crawly called her back “Azrael,” said angel turned to look at him. The demon warned  
“Don't tell the other angels you are able to see or about any of this; they cast me out of Heaven for doing that”

“I appreciate the warning. May I see you alive in the future, Demon...?” she on purpose falter with the name.  
  
“Crawly” Crawly said

“Demon Crawly,” Azrael nodded as a greeting to his new name and as a goodbye. The demon watched after a Death angel who suddenly was an ally to them and after his precious angel who was nearly killed by Hellfire. 

He didn't see Aziraphale for the next 50 years. 


	19. The coming of Christ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long last chapter.

I flew over the plains of the country called Heart Field on Anuvina and towards the Golden castle to meet up with one of my brothers. It was common we met up inside the golden castle since the people of Planet Anuvina have made a chamber for me and my siblings inside the castle for our domain. I didn't use a door as a mortal would; I took a funny way inside by making myself into light enter the domain via the giant glass painting made in honor of my kind. 

I landed on a pillar which I have materialized for myself. I was used to plants would grow on the pillar right when I touched it. 

“Adnima. I am glad you wanted to come today.” my brother of the Sun said to me. He was sitting on his own pillar and behind him, a replica of the two suns of Anuvina could be seen behind him. 

“Kantas, you are a sight for sore eyes.” I greeted back. 

“I only hope you meant that as a compliment. What is troubling you?” as always; Kantas was always more concerned about others than himself. I already knew his mercy and the parently figure is what most Gods we are pictured after having those traits of him. 

“your little side project might have caused some problems in the timeline of Earth.” I told him directly.

“The Chosen is not a side project, sister. This child will be the voice of the people, and a light for a better future is believing” Kantas only showed his distaste of my words with a slight scrunching up of his eyes. 

“no need to be upset. But my Natoque has found out about this Chosen, and now they think they are meant to be a Heaven child.” I said annoyed. I made a mental note to kick Darlain's metaphorical ass later.

“Heaven is seen as a good thing for humans on Earth.” Kantas argued gently back. He always tried to be calm even when he disagreed with something. 

“even a Paradise has its poisonous plants. The timeline has shown me that the Natoque will start a war and destroy Earth while doing so.” I told him. this time Kantas showed teeth. I knew he was very fond of all living beings and mindless suffering and death were one of his biggest pet peeves. mine was stupidity but that is beside the case.   
“yeah, you can see why Darlain and I are not very fond of this predicament either.” 

“you can tell them not to go in war.” He pointed out.   
  
I gave him a look. Kantas was not wrong but still;  
“This is the first time they have shown a slight bit of free will. You can't expect me to flush all of this process down the figurative drain?”  
  
Kantas sighed deeply. if we were outside the domain, he would surely have started a small tornado with the sigh.   
“part of me wants to say yes, this war they want to start is meaningless, and they will destroy themselves in the process.”  
I waited for him to think over his next word. not because I were angry at him but I know Kantas was one of those who always thought carefully over what he would say  
“But I can also see how much this means to you... I do not want this war to start either do I want to abandon this unborn child. He deserves to live as much as the rest of us.”

“I won't tell you to kill this human. But I am telling you to make them aware of his future actions.”

Kantas gave me a mildly surprised look;   
“You want me to make them able to see the timeline?" I nodded in confirmation. it was funny to see him nearly lose his cool "Sister, only we are able to see the time without been driving mad of all the choices. No, I will only make him able to see two timelines. What would happen if he starts this forsaken war and what would happen if he doesn't.” 

“you are too soft, Kantas..." I laughed while he scooped up two paths of the timeline in his hands 

"some of us have to be the Merciful and forgiving one," he said with a little smile of his own. he opened a portal to Earth. I could see it were night on the part of Earth I could see through the portal. Kantas turned into a common sparrow which was nearly an insult to what we are "It was good to see you, sister. I will see you again under better circumstances.”

“it was good to see you too, Brother. Say hello to our other sibling from me when you see them.”

“I will.” 

He flew through the portal to give this unborn chosen their new ability before they were even born. I was not that fond of humans but I do have a love for evolution. maybe I could use this little trial in the future? who knows? 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale woke up inside a healing pod and was immaterially put on rehabilitation to see his leg were now in working order. The first time he woke up in the healing pod. He was unable to walk without limping, so he has put into the pod again until the other angels woke him up for the second time nearly 15 years later after his first healing slumber.  
Aziraphale was not keen on forced sleeping.   
He was able to walk now without limping, but he kept the nasty golden scars on his thigh since they were made out of Hellfire; they will never disappear.  
  
He returned back to his duties on Earth after gotten a summary from Gabriel on what was going on lately. 

Something big was going to happen. 

-

On Earth, Aziraphale went to Bethlehem; he sat down inside an inn, and even though he were 'on the job,' he still decided to tell his dear friend via the staff of healin ring that he was back on Earth.   
Not even an hour later, and a black-cloaked figure walked over to him and sat on the other side of the table. 

“Crawly,” he greeted the cloaked figure. Crawly sat down with concern in her eyes. 

“You're alright?” she asked.

“All thanks to -”

“No, I didn't do much. You have to thank Azrael when you see her”

“Azrael? You mean...?”

“She can see now,” Crawly said. She flagged down the owner of the inn, and both of them got something to drink. Aziraphale was happy to be able to eat and drink again. Crawly looked thoughtful at him “what are you doing in this place?”

Aziraphale looked around the inn and used his magic to search for other Natoque's in the area. The only immortals his magic found were the demon in front of him. He still decided to lower his voice in case some humans were listening in on their conversation. Crawly leaned closer to him with giant curious eyes when he whispered:

“A Chosen will be born in this town. It is my duty to make sure they are under Heaven's influence throughout their whole life.”

“A Chosen? The Creators only chose mortal when they are at least seen as an adult of their species,” Crawly said, surprised. Aziraphale nodded too. 

Chosen were mortal who was hand-picked by the Gods to control magic or even be turned into another species from time to time. These mortals were hand-picked for different reasons; the most common is to inspire those around them. They were never chosen to do something big, just to be there to make a difference for the minority. 

“This one is different. Gabriel was directly told to tell the mother of the Chosen that she will carry a child as a virgin but will still be the child of her chosen husband,” Aziraphale told.

“Sounds very much like a Nephilim,” Crawly mumbled into her mug of wine, “hijack female genes and make sure she gives birth to an outspring of our species. Sure it is not Gabriel's kid?”

“Oh yeah, pretty sure. This one is fully human, but they will have powers like us” Aziraphale said with a smile “it will grow with them with time and...” the angel's smile faltered when he remembered what Micheal told him about the future of said child “they... will also mark the eh.... days for the... angels.”

“Day of the angels? What the Heavens does that mean?”

“It means the angels will follow this Chosen child to end all the demons..."

“Let me get this straight” the demon puts her mug down a bit hard and looked seriously into his eyes without blinking “your lot will use this powerful human as a starting tool for going into a war with my lot? Is that the reason why you are told to be near this kid on the day they are born?”

“To the day they die, yes,” Aziraphale nodded somberly, “a living angelic tool, can you believe that?”

“What an honor,” Crawly growled sarcastically. The angel didn't get the sarcasm.   
They sat in silence while enjoying their drinks before the angel said suddenly;

“We will win, of course.”

Crawly gave him a look over the rim of her mug  
“No, you don't want that.”

“Why not? When Heaven triumph over Hell, life will be better.”

“you really believe that?” the demon asks with a bitter laugh. Aziraphale was hesitating far too long. No, he really didn't believe what the higher ranking angels preached about, and Crawly knew that “what are they going to tell you next? That all of your lots walks around with a harp, and we all walk around with pitchfork?”

“You know we don't play harps; you should know that.”

“And we don't use pitchfork; we use real weapons, I was being rhetorical,” the demon snarks. Aziraphale rolled his eyes at him “what did they really tell you?”

“....Earth will be our battle arena since it is neutral ground for both of us,” he said that the other angels had told him. 

“Not much we can do about it,” Crawly shrugged.

“No.... there isn't much we can do,” Aziraphale agreed. He raised his mug to the demon, “let us hope on the best.”

“The best,” Crawly said, and they cheered with their drinks for a future; there was still unknown for all of them except for the Gods. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Planet Earth**

**year 3 bc**

**Jerusalem**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was night, and everything was quiet in Bethlehem. There was not much activity outside the homes of people or the inns. On top of one of the bigger houses, there was an angel who was pacing fort and back.   
He was soon accompanied by a demon who flew down to him. 

“Soo... today is the day?” Crawly said calmly. He didn't notice that Aziraphale was far from calm “Angel, what is-”

“They're late!” Aziraphale bursts out in a full-blown panic attack “why are they late?! They should have been here for hours ago, and they would have been in a nice fancy inn where the child of Heaven would have been born in the finest cloth and- oh God, what if something happened to them? Micheal and Gabriel would be very upset with me if something happens to the Chosen and-”

“Aziraphale, breath,” Crawly hushed him and gently lay a hand on his shoulder. The angel felt the demon's magic flew in his veins and calmed his body down. Crawly folded his blackened wings around the angel to make him feel grounded and to stops his panic talk as good as he could. “I saw them on the way here. She was a bit fatter than-”

“She is highly pregnant, Crawly, of course, she is... big” Aziraphale snippet inside the demon's wings. Crawly just shrugged. The angel quickly peaked up when his brain followed up what Crawly just said, “you saw them? Oh good, that means nothing has happened to them.” 

-

They waited over a little hour before they finally saw the two soon-to-be parents. The mother was riding on a donkey since she was highly pregnant and was unable to walk. Wriggle in excitement Aziraphale saw them walked over to the Inn there was chosen to them in the great plan, but his smile and excitement dimmer down when he saw the soon-to-be father walked out of the inn again, and they continued their journey to a new inn which they too were walking away from soon after. 

“Why are they not going inside the inn? What is going on?” Aziraphale asked Crawly, who just looked as confused as he was. The angel quickly flew down(and quickly disguised himself as a human) to the chosen inn and walked inside and asked for a room. The innkeeper told him there were no more rooms left   
“BOOKED UP!?” Aziraphale cried in the middle of the inn. All the humans in the area looked at him. The innkeeper looked extremely annoyed at him, but before the innkeeper could tell the panicking Aziraphale off or kick him out, Crawly came and dragged him outside before they got too much attention on them.   
Outside, the inn Aziraphale began to prance forth and back again. Crawly only looked at him, so he was no help either. 

“Didn't you say they were late?” the demon asked. Aziraphale stared frustrated at him;

“Yes, but not this late! I need to make a miracle to give them a place to stay. She cannot give birth in a-”

“Stable?”

“-Yes, a stable. That will be such an embarrassment for Heaven. He is supposed to be a king in the future and ride us into battle against all evil.”

“All evil, you say?” Crawly ask with a hard look in his serpentine eyes. Aziraphale grimace at his choice of words. 

“Well, you are not **all** evil, Crawly. You are more...” the angel tried to think for a better word on Crawly; there was not very angelic. He got nothing there could describe the demon, “what is the word for less evil?”

“A fucking annoyance,” Crawly snaked, he was not in the mood to discuss this. Aziraphale was more than happy to let it drop, and both of them began to walk around the city to find the soon-to-be parents in hope Aziraphale could still find them a good place to give birth. Unfortunately, the soon-to-be parents were nowhere in sight.  
  
Aziraphale began to panic again while Crawly looked into the different windows, completely ignoring common decency. The angel leaned against a wall to calm himself when he saw Crawly looked a bit too long into a stable window. The angel walked over to him to see what got the demon's attention.

“Did you remembered me saying something about a stable?” the demon asked when he was close enough. He still didn't look away from the window. 

Aziraphale felt his heart sink  
“She did not-”

Aziraphale quickly looked inside the window too and true enough; he heard a newborn baby before seeing them.   
The mother has already given birth.

“She did,” Crawly said. Aziraphale moaned miserably. Both of them stepped away from the window, “change of plans?”

“Change of- **this is a disaster!** The baby was supposed to be born in luxury, so every human knew he would be special!”

“We can still make it special, Angel. what do you need on your to-do list?”

“Let me see...” Aziraphale snapped his fingers, and a heavenly tablet appeared out of nowhere. The tablet showed at least 30 things the angel should learn the baby before they were fully adult “we need at least a witness of the birth-”

“That one should be easier enough.”

“-Wise men from a foreign country who should bring gifts to the Chosen Child. they should have been here by now, too”

“That one is a bit more tricky.”

“And a very important name that will carry the name of God.”

“Eh, need a bit of thinking to that one,” Crawly clapped his hands together, and the angel looked confused at him “ I need all of the staff of healing. You do need some witnesses.”

“Oh, you are finally going to take that back?”  
Aziraphale pulled off his staff ring and lay it in the demon's palm. 

“You wish,” Crawly snorted. He puts the snake in his hair, and they turned into a fake glowing halo(Angels didn't really have a halo, but their bodies were able to glow. The halo was something the humans came up with) and the staff wings Aziraphale used to have on his little finger, Crawly turned into a pair of wings pin and put it on his clothing. Crawly used his magic to change the clothing to a pure white and did something to his eyes with the last part, it was like he added an extra iris to his eyes so they didn't look like snake eyes. Crawly winced uncomfortably at the last part since he just stuffed gold into his eyeballs.   
He spread his arms out again for the angel to see.  
“Well? How to I look?”

“like an Angel, I guess?” Aziraphale said, unsure what the demon was up to since his aura was still very demonic but he guessed humans could not feel that.  
Crawly looked satisfied by his answer and said;

“Now, you need to find those Wise men you list are talking about. You might need to make a quite show to make them following you.”

“I think of something,” the angel nodded and materialized his wings. Both of them flew up in the air, “we can talk to the mother about the name later.”

Crawly nodded and flew the opposite direction of the true angel in the area. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Not long after Crawly's quick trip out to the open field outside the city to collect some awestruck shepherds to witness the birth of the Chosen baby, Aziraphale blitzed nearby where Crawly was hiding (who also was back to his normal appearance). The angel looked relieved. 

“The wise men are on their way,” he said quietly to the demon who nodded "made myself glow like a small sun before they followed me, though” Crawly couldn't help but snort amused at that. He wishes he could have seen that spectacle. The angel frowned when he noticed the witness who was currently talking with the new parents   
“Shepherds?”

“Best I could do on such short notice,” Crawly defended himself and gave back the staff wings to Aziraphale, the kept the snake though. Luckily the angel nodded in understanding while he put the wing-ring back on his little finger “kid's name is Jesus by the way.”

“Jesus is a good name. Very good”

Both of them watched from the shadow of the stables how the shepherds congratulate the new parents and will tell anyone they knew about the child. The shepherds left, and Aziraphale ended up going outside to see where the wise men were. Crawly looked from the shadows of how Aziraphale(who had his wings out to make sure they knew he was serious) lead them inside the stable and told them that the baby of these simple parents was extremely special. All of the wise men came to look at the baby and gave the parents gold, frankincense, and myrrh as gifts. They talked a good while to the new parents before Crawly saw Aziraphale's protective mode flared up, and he went over to them to tell them kindly that it was best they be on their way again since the mother was tired and needed rest after just have giving birth. 

The demon chuckled a little when he saw the angel helped them to get home faster by nearly shoving them inside a portal which surely leads back to their homeland.   
He saw how Aziraphale quickly went over to the parents and gave them some(miracle) extra blankets to them and even some food for all of them. He heard the angel tell them that he would watch over them and teach the child of Heaven the rightful way. 

Crawly was pretty sure those were the words Heaven wanted him to say.  
The angel let the small family sleep, and he went back to the place were the demon was hiding. 

“Better go before the other angels realize I am around,” Crawly said quietly, so he didn't wake up the small family. 

“Already?” Aziraphale asked with a hint of sadness. 

“Yup. Talk to you later.” 

“Right” 

The demon opened up a portal back to Hell outside the stable and did not see the disappointed look on the angel's face when he walked away. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale did a lot to make sure the family stayed safe. He took them out of the country if civil war or some disturbance were beginning to get out of hand. Aziraphale took the family to Egypt(being back here made him think of his kids. He didn't mourn over their death anymore, but he will never forget his pseudo children) at some point where he made sure a young Jesus was learning to read and speak more and one language. Both of his parents were good ones even if they didn't live in luxury as Heaven wanted them to do in the first place. 

-

At some time in Jesus' young life, his father Joseph asked the angel if it were possible for them to go back to Nazareth, where his wife Mary could give birth to Jesus's future younger siblings in peace.   
Aziraphale first asked Heaven if that was possible, and with a green light, he took the family back to Nazareth, where they pretty much lived most of their life. 

-

Jesus grew up like all other humans, but his eyes showed he had far more power than any other humans around him. Even at a young age, he was already a beautiful human being.   
Though Jesus was never told by his parents what Aziraphale really was, the boy already knew just by looking at the angel. 

Like a Natoque, he was extremely quick to learn new things. At the age of seven, he could already speak at least seven languages with the help of Aziraphale.   
By the age of ten, he was able to help his father in his job as a carpenter.   
At the age of twelve, his parents once lost him and found him in a temple where he was able to amaze the elders over how smart he was at such a young age.   
At the age of fifteen, he already has so much power surging around him that when he tells Aziraphale that he wanted to teach his younger siblings to read, the angel immaterially backs away without questioning. 

“He concerns me,” Aziraphale told Crawly when he sat from a distance of the family while Jesus helped his father in his work. He was 25 years old at that time, “he is very powerful for a human being.”

The demon looked at the family over Aziraphale's shoulder. He has noticed the demon stayed far away from Jesus, probably because of this reason.

“He scares you?” the demon asked.

“No, he is a very good ki-man. It just...” Aziraphale sighed and took a drink from his mug “he is not aware yet that he is able to use magic.”

“They want you to teach him?”

“Yes, but only after he is baptized by his grand-cousin John” the angel quickly added when he saw the confused look and the demon's face “he has a lot of influence himself, he too has a guardian angel.”

“Mhm,” Crawly mutter “you are going to be there when he is baptized?” 

“Of course, I have orders to send him out in the desert where he will be tested by your lot,” both of them grimaced.

“You are going to be out there with him?”

“Of course. Have to make sure he is not killed while out there” Aziraphale looked quickly around and saw Jesus was looking at them. He quickly asked the demon “any change it is y-”

“Can't be me. Too far down the food chain to do such a job.”

“Pity”

Both of them looked at Jesus, who gave them both a mysterious look before he went back to help his father in his work.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When Jesus was 31 years old, Aziraphale took him to the Jordan river, where he knew John the Baptist would be. The man was already determined to meet the other influential man and his followers, but he still looked curious as to the angel.

“ _What do demons look like?_ ” Jesus asked simply.   
Aziraphale has already given him hints through his childhood, but he has never directly pointed one(Crawly) out for him. All of the other demons knew to stay away from this child of Heaven. 

“ _Like an evil being who God cast out of heaven for refusing to bow to mankind. They have no Grace and will-_ ”

“ _No, that is what you are told to say to me,_ ” Jesus interrupted him gently. He looked at the angel with eyes as old as the Natoque race themselves. Aziraphale sometimes thought he could see what his species would have been in the man if they did not have the block “ _your friend is a demon, she is not really like you but has the same aura like you._ ”

“ _Crawly is not my friend,_ ” Aziraphale lied quickly. He felt bad about it. 

“ _Lover then,_ ” Jesus said casually. Aziraphale sputtered like crazy at that response “ _I am confused. You have always told me that someday I would banish all evil of the world, so only an Eden is back on Earth_ ” he looked at the angel again with those timeless eyes, “ _and yet, you are in love with the so-called enemy._ ”

Aziraphale looked away, ashamed. Was he that transparent that he loved Crawly? He knew Heaven didn't know about this, and he was pretty sure they didn't even know Crawly existed. But it was concerning that Jesus was able to notice such a thing without ever talking to the demon.

“ _It is very complicated; young master,_ ” Aziraphale pleaded, “ _there is really no need for you to think what a simple angel like me-_ ” he stopped himself before he went too far. He knew he shouldn't get too attached to the man because of the fate he was given by Heaven. He quickly hardened his bleeding heart and went back to his script he was given by Heaven  
“ _it is very important you follow the path of Heaven in your life, Jesus. You cannot stray from it._ ”

“ _Even if it kills me?_ ” Jesus asked seriously, and his eyes told him he knew something about the future. Aziraphale has no answer for that. The Chosen man clapped the angel gently on the shoulder and said, “ _you are a good angel, Aziraphale. But you need to think for yourself a bit more._ ”

With those words, he walked away from the angel to meet the other man at the Jordan River. Aziraphale has no words to what he said. He wished he had, but he didn't.   
Sighing deeply, the angel turned into a white dove and flew over the humans. Heaven should be happy he was now able to turn into an animal, but they would probably want him to have a bit more fierce animal like an eagle or a lion.   
But a dove has to do it. 

-

Aziraphale knew that Jesus was told even from a young age that he was the son of God. He was meant to lead all the good to defeat all evil. He was supposed to start the war between Heaven and Hell without knowing the consequence it would have on Earth itself. 

Aziraphale didn't really want a war, but he has no real attachment to Earth itself yet, and he was still not strong enough to go against something he was born to be loyal to.  
He needed more time before he was strong enough to fight for Earth and its inhabitant.

And Jesus knew that. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Crawly sat in the corner of one of the bigger rooms of Hell and saw three higher-ranking demons making themselves ready to tempt the 'Son of God'. 

The tempting was to make Jesus more aware of how powerful he was, and then he would be ready to start the war within the next few years. 

The snake demon watched how Beelzebub, Lucifer, and Azazel were chosen by Samael to be the demons to tempt the poor human. They were one of the strongest demons in Hell.   
While Samael made some dramatic speech about the demons were going to win this soon-to-be war between Heaven and Hell.   
Lucifer looked around the room full of other demons who cheered on them like this was some soccer match, and his eyes found Crawly's. Lucifer and Crawly were demons who, in secret, wanted to be angels again. Crawley knew it was a good chance for the other once-seraphim to get maybe this wish granted. He just needed to be careful.

“-And for this highlight of the Demons reign, we are in need of a witness who will describe to us the glory it will be when we make the mortal of Heaven fall,” Samael said loudly to all of his followers. Nearly all the demons cheered at his speech. Only very few demons didn't but acted like they did “who will be a witness of our glory!”

A roar of demons began to yell or cry out that they wanted this glory. They wanted to impress Satan with this important task. Crawly could not help but roll his eyes a little over the eagerness of the other demons but he still clapped like he was with Samael. To his absolute misery, he saw Samael's eyes landed on him, and he got that smile again, which only meant that he was going to use Crawly to his own gain. 

“Crawly, Serpent of Eden!”

Crawly walked down to him(there is not enough room in Hell to even spread the wings just a little) and bowed with an unreadable face. On the inside, he was both annoyed and curious.  
He was annoyed Samael always single him out to these types of things he really didn't want to be part of, only because he has the sight.   
He was, after all, still a low-ranking demon.   
Crawly was also curious to see how Aziraphale and the powerful human will handle the other demons. He knew Aziraphale was strong, but he also knew the angel despised fighting.

Crawly tried not to flinch when Satan lay both of his clawed hands on his shoulders. 

“Make me proud,” he said with a 'friendly' smile. He didn't fool anyone. Samael lets go of Crawly and command the three high ranking demons, “find the mortal in the desert! He will be protected by the angels, but let not those higher then thou idiots get in your way to bring Hell to glory” he raised his arm into the air to wind up the demons while he yelled, “TO GLORY!”

“ **TO GLORY!** ” all the other demons called with him. 

Samael opened a portal for all four of them, and they all flew out to find the Chosen in the desert. They saw the human sit on a large hill fasting.   
  
Around him, there were four angels. Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Aziraphale were surely the stand-in for Raphael since he was holding the incomplete staff of healing in his hand instead of a flaming sword.   
The four angels did not stop the demons when they approach, and Crawly quickly flew up on a big stone nearby where she could watch it all happened, she notices small bones and apple core around the sitting human, so she was sure the human had been out here with the angels for some time. The demon looked at the angels, and she was sure they would attack if the demons tried to harm Jesus in any way.   
They were only allowed to try to temp the human, but nothing else.

She quickly looked over to Aziraphale, who returned a concerned glance before both of them looked away. 

The first demon to approach Jesus was Beelzebub.   
Their four wings(they used to have six, the two smallest were lost in battle) have almost the same shine as the wings of an insect, and their wild hair was black as a flies' body. Like a few other demons, they have some scars in the face of the Rebellion.   
Jesus looked up in their eyes when they got close enough to him.

“ _You muzzt be hungry mortal. The angelszz have starved you for dayzz so that you can show you are loyal to Heaven_ ” They buzzed and kicked to the scraps of food around him. Jesus looked casual at the kicked food and looked back to the demon who has picked up a stone and showed it to the man “ _you cannot eat szztons, but you can turn them to bread and finally end your hunger._ ” 

“ _Man shall not live on bread alone, the demon of gluttony,_ ” Jesus said simply. his eyes landed on Aziraphale who was fidgety with his staff(Crawly didn't blame him) and looked like he wanted to tell the demon to leave Jesus alone and maybe give the human some more food in the process “ _I never starved, I got what my body needed. I am showing temperance. I will show you I can restrain myself for your promise of food or the need to carve all the world's desire._ ”  
  
“ _zzooner or later you will carve for more thanzz apples and rabbit meat,_ ” Beelzebub buzzed annoyed “ _I can azsure you of-_ ”

“ _I will eat better when I return back to my family. Now leave me a demon, I have nothing more to say to you,_ ” Jesus closed his eyes again. Crawly was forced to silence herself for roaring in laughter at that incredible annoyed look Beelzebub gave Jesus.   
They did look like they wanted to harm the human, but Gabriel flew down and pretty much pushed them away. They did have some very colorful words toward the purple winged angel who clearly looked like he were not paid enough for this (Even if Angels weren't paid for their duty to Heaven) and kept pushing the smaller demon away until they got tired of all of this and took the first portal back to Hell but not before hitting Gabriel's face with their wings. Gabriel looked like he wanted to smack them like an annoying fly which kept bugging him. 

Crawly turned her attention back to the Chosen human who was approached by Lucifer. The angelic demon did not go up in Jesus's face as Beelzebub did, but he still showed some dominance by how his wings were spread. 

“ _Stand up, Mortal. I will take you to a holy temple,_ ” Lucifer said bluntly. Jesus came up on his feet(Crawly noticed his leg shook a little. The food the angels have giving him were enough to keep him alive but not enough to make sure his body was strong enough to do simple tasks) and walked over to the portal Lucifer has opened up. Crawly saw Micheal followed them, and she decided to do the same but still kept her distance. 

All of them ended up on a big temple in Jerusalem, where Jesus stood on the highest top. Lucifer flew in front of him, and both Micheal and Crawly kept their distance. Micheal was also in the air. Ready to intervene if needed while Crawly found a place to hide nearby as a snake(not on the temple though since that was a holy 'object'). She wanted to show she was not here for a fight. She was only here to watch.

Lucifer began talking to Jesus.   
“ _If you are the son of God, you cannot die of simple wounds. Let yourself fall from this temple, and you will be like us, and you will sprout wings and stand like us besides God._ ”

Jesus looked down with a curious glance, and then he took several steps away from the edge.

'Clever' Crawly thought in her hiding place. 

“ _God does not like to be tested more than you and I do, brother,_ ” Jesus said far more gently to this demon than he did to Beelzebub. It was clear it shocked Lucifer, “ _do I feel pride in God chose me from my birth? It is an honor, but I will not test Him to see if He favor me, I will live like a simple man like my brothers and sisters. I am only a human._ ” 

“ _I am not your brother, nor will I ever be,_ ” Lucifer growled. He looked more confused than angry at the word. 

“ _Am I not? The same power there flew in your blood flow in mine as well,_ ” Jesus said. Lucifer looked troubled, and he ended up floating closer to the human. The human tried to touch the demon's arm, but he shies away from it, “ _you used to be a glorious angel, the first star on the sky. A morning star. But you fell because you thought you could challenges God._ ”

“ _I did **not** challenge God,_” Lucifer defended himself. This time he looked angry at the accusation.

“ _You are a prideful being, and you were striving for the highest seat of heaven only to be cast down,_ ” Jesus explained. Crawly was not sure where he knew all of this from. He might have been talking to one of the Gods for all of this. The human gestured to Lucifer's face there made the demon growl a little “ _even now. You are looking at me with jealousy. Is it because you were told to bow down to the humans?_ ”

“ _...Yes_ ” the demon admitted slowly

“ _Satan told you this, brother. He lied to you,_ ” Jesus said, “ _God wanted you to learn to be humble. Help others and feel pride when your followers are standing tall with your help. When you learn humility, you are finally able to see_ ” the snake demon saw Jesus tried again to touch the demon but hovered his hand few inched away.   
He was giving the demon a choice. 

Lucifer was looking thoughtful at the human's hand. He lifted his own, hesitated, and then he slowly stroke the hand on the human with a new glint in his eyes.   
The demon let go of the human's hand and stepped away.

“ _I will remember those words.... brother._ ”   
Lucifer flew off into the air. He didn't look back at Jesus, and he too returns back to Hell.

Crawly was sure the human has made the other demon have a lot to think about.   
Maybe even giving him the Sight.

Micheal landed beside Jesus without a word. Opened a new portal, and all three(Crawly still lagged behind in case Micheal got some ideas) of them returned back to the desert where the other angels and the last demon have waited for them. 

By the looks of Aziraphale's face, they might have been in a verbal fight with Azazel.   
The third demon looked at Jesus with a confident grin like he knew he has better change that the two others. He was so confident that he shooed Micheal away, who just gave him a warning look before flying up to the other angels.   
The third demon turned Jesus, so he looked over the city below him and the surrounding area. 

“ _I will give everything you can see; every mountain will be turned to gold. Every human will bow to you and will give you everything you desire,_ ” Azazel told dramatic with four brown-gray flaring wings. He even lay an arm over the clearly-not-impressed Jesus, “ _the only thing you have to do is to bow down and worship our Lord and savior._ ”

“ _Satan did not save you, nor will he give you that glory you carve for. Demons greed for power and glory will once again be your downfall_ ” Jesus said while he moved the demon's arm away from him “ _I will not bow for a selfish being, and I will raise the weak, so they can stand on their feet to carry the next who is in need of help_ ” he looked over the city he grew up in with a gentle look before he turned to give the third demon a cold stare   
“ _Away from me, greedy demon. I will never want anything from you or your Lord. I only serve one God, and his name is not yours._ ”

Azazel was clearly taken aback by the sudden hostility, and he returns it with his own.   
“ _You will regret talking to me like that, mortal._ ”   
His brown-gray wings flared up in anger. Before Azazel could do anything, Micheal landed between the two, and their flaming sword was pointing directly at the demon's throat. The demon quickly took some steps back. 

“begone demon. All of you have done what you came for,” Micheal said with a cold look in their eyes. 

Azazel snarled(it sounded a lot like an angry bird screeching) at the Crusading angel, but he did what he was told. Like the other demons, he disappeared into a portal back to Hell. 

Crawly didn't move from her hiding spot. She was pretty sure that the angels had forgotten she was around, and she was right when one by one, the angels blitzed away from Jesus. Only Aziraphale stayed behind. 

Both the last angel and demon flew over to the Chosen human, but Crawly ended up blitzing beside the man when his leg fell under him. 

“I got him, Angel,” Crawly said quickly to Aziraphale, and he gently helped Jesus to sit down on a big stone nearby “ _easy there, you did use a lot of energy smack-talking the other demons_.”

While Jesus sat down to restore his body's energy(Aziraphale summon him some water), Crawly took the change to get out of the common demonic armor(' Samael and his idea of dramatic' Crawly thought tetchy) and into something more human clothing there were more her style. She quickly looked at the angel who was looking watchful around the area, probably to make sure there was no danger for Crawly to be around. 

“ _You are not here to tempt me?_ ” Jesus asked her. He looked curious up at the frowning demons face. 

“ _Nah, only invited to watch this crazy show,_ ” Crawly shrugged. She was not in the mood to torture the poor fellow with even more tempting attempts. She looked concerned at the human, “ _you hungry? I can take you back to your family?_ ”

“ _Of course he is hungry, Crawly. He has barely eaten in 40 days. Oh, I knew this was a bad idea and-_ ”

" _I am alright_ ” Jesus stopped Aziraphale's hen-mother mode. Crawly send an apologetic smile to the angel who ruffled his feather frustrated over the whole ordeal. Jesus slowly came up on his feet with help from Aziraphale. “ _I like to talk to her alone_.”

Aziraphale looked at Crawly and then to Jesus. He had a very concerned look in his eyes.   
“ _.... Alright,_ ” he finally said and slowly let go of the human. He spread his wings out and looked at both of them, “ _you know how to contact me._ ”

With that, the angel flew away. Possible back to the cottage he was living in at the moment. 

“ _The last part was not meant for me. I could see it in his eyes,_ ” Jesus said possible to Crawly, but it could easily also be to the world itself. 

“ _Hm_ ” was the demon's only answer. She was not going to deny or confirm anything.

“ _What does he mean for you?_ ”

“ _He is my mortal enemy, and it is my job to-_ ”

“ _Funny, he almost said the same about you,_ ” the human chuckle. Crawly rolled her eyes playfully and decided to open a portal to a new place in the world. Why not show off a little? The chosen human looked happy by the change of scenery, and he walked over to a Greek market place to look at the different things. Crawly made sure to stay close to him   
“ _both of you know the risk of others knowing about your relationship?_ ”

" _A demon and an angel are not meant to be friends, savior,_ ” the demon quoted what others demons always said. She bought some food to the human he could nimble on while they talked, “ _we were barely friends before I fell from Grace._ ”

“ _By God?_ ” Jesus asked, and he ended up giving his brought bread to some beggars who were thanking him profusely. Crawly shook her head no but did not go into details. The human didn't pry. 

The demon leads the Savior into an alley where she opened a news portal, and they ended in the rainforest of South America, where they walked among the Inca people. 

“ _He loves you,_ ” Jesus said after a little while. Both of them were looking at some temples to the Gods; there was worship in this part of the world. 

“ _I know,_ ” Crawly said gently. She summoned some native food to the human who took it greatly. 

“ _It is said demons are not able to feel love,_ ” Jesus said while he took a little bite of the Native fruits. He looked happy to taste these things. 

“ _I know..._ ” Crawly mumbled. She took them to a new place, which ended up being the wall of China. She again summoned some native food to the human “ _whatever I am feeling toward the angel, it something forbidden._ ”

“ _Love comes in many forms,_ ” Jesus said gently. He looked very confused at the chopstick he has gotten with his food. He ended up eating his rice with vegetables and meat with his fingers.   
After Jesus was done eating. Crawly took them both to Norway. After Jesus was done being astonish over the snow. Both of them sat down in a small(warm) inn, and Crawly ordered something to drink. Jesus just looked curious around before he asked,   
“ _Your name is Crawly? Why are you giving this name?_ ”

“ _You know, all snakes are cursed by God to crawl on their bellies. Forever eat the dust of the ground,_ ” the demon quouted carefree. She didn't really care what the human books were saying about her. Over half of it wasn't even true. 

“ _You are the snake of Eden?_ ” Jesus asked. The innkeeper gave them some big mugs of mead. The human looked unsure of how to tackle this drink.

“ _The one and only_ ” Crawly grinned and took a sip of her own mead. 

“ _Is that the reason why you don't eat_ ” Jesus followed her action. He ended up coughing. It was clear he was not used to its taste. 

“ _You need the food more than me, Savior_ ” Crawly laughed at his experience with mead(she didn't tell the human that she did eat from time to time, but preferred not too since she didn't care about table manners). Jesus quickly looked around him before he tapped the mug once, and the mug's content turned into a reddish color.  
“ _neat trick_ ” Crawly grinned.

“ _I am sure you can do the same,_ ” Jesus smiled. The demon raised an eyebrow at him, and she tapped once on her own mug, and it too turned to wine. The human gave him an 'I knew it' look.

-

After they were done with the drink, Crawly took them to India, where they again looked at some temples. 

“ _you remind me of a Crow,_ ” Jesus said after a little while.

“ _A crow? Because I am a Bad omen?_ ” the demon said what was expected of her. She was not practical found of being seen as a boring-looking bird, which also has a terrible voice. 

“ _No, you have wings like one,_ ” Jesus said like it was the most obvious thing in the world “ _you also remind me of one because I once saw a crow with a flock of doves. I remembered I found it strange that the doves did not hunt it away, but then I look at you and Aziraphale_ ” the human looked intensely at him, Crawly decided not to meet his eyes   
“ _I think I get it. It has nothing to do how you look like. It has everything to do with who you feel comfortable with._ ”

“ _A crow, hmm?_ ” Crawly mumbled. She has never liked the name Samael has given her. It felt like an absolute insult to what she once was, and she has thought more than once to change it. But to what has always been the problem. She gave the story the Chosen human told her some thought. She looked at the human who she has a feeling where studying her, “ _you are ready to return home?_ ”

“ _Not yet,_ ” Jesus said. Crawly shrugged and took them to Egypt. Something a bit closer to the human's homeland. They walked casually with other humans who didn't really notice either of them. “ _I have one more thing I want to talk to you about_ ” he looked intensely at her. It made the demon a little nervous “ _Aziraphale does not want to talk about it, and I think he is sworn to secrecy._ ”

“ _Sounds about right,_ ” Crawly mumbled. She has a feeling where this was going. 

“ _Can you tell me why Heaven wants me to be aware of my power? Why do they not allow me or my mother to be a normal human being? What do they want with me?_ ”

“ _I think it is best you don't-_ ”

“ _Do not tell me what is best for me. I want to know what the angels have planned for the future because the only thing I see is death,_ ” Jesus interrupted harshly. His eyes hold a lot of power inside of them, and she could see why he sometimes make Aziraphale nervous. The last part he said made the demon drop his jaw in utter shock “ _yes, I can see the future, and I think God gave me this gift to make me able to change the future to a better one._ ”

Crawly thought about it for a moment. It was true that Heaven and Hell want this war to start, but there was not much she could do about it. The fact that the Savior was able to see some part of the future and since the angels (surely) have not learned him this. It must have been a Creator who decided to interfere for one reason or another.   
She really didn't know anymore what kind of game all of the Gods were playing. 

She decided to think 'fuck it' and told the human what she knew.   
“ _Heaven and Hell want you to start a war. Heaven will follow you when you lead them against my lot._ ”

“ _What about the demons? Do you not want to prevent this war from ever happened?_ ”

“ _No, they want to fight Heaven as much as the angels want to fight us,_ ” Crawly pointed up in the air even if she knew Heaven nor God were not located in the sky, but she knew it was a human thing “ _part of the great plan._ ”

“ _We will see about that,_ ” Jesus said mysteriously. Crawly felt for a second she was talking with a Creator. He looked grateful at her, “ _thank you for telling me this_.”

“ _You should never thank a demon. It is safer to pet a snake than to befriend a demon,_ ” Crawly gave back with a hardened look. 

“ _Says the snake demon,_ ” Jesus smirked. Crawly have to give him that, and she shrugged. Opened the last portal, and both of them were back in Jesus' hometown. The human looked at her for one last time and said: “ _I know what I fight for. Goodbye Serpent of Eden._ ”

“ _Goodbye Savior,_ ” Crawly mumbled after the retreating human who was far more powerful than any other human around them both. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- 

Aziraphale sat close by, keeping an eye on Jesus and his disciples. At the current moment, they were just talking, and the angel has no idea if this was part of the plan or not.   
He just decided to let Jesus do what he wants since Heaven, were not around to order him to stop the powerful man.   
Besides, he liked to hear Jesus preach. He was pretty good at it. 

-

It wasn't long after that that Jesus began to use his ancient power to help and heal the poor and sick around him. He got a lot of attention by doing this.   
Both the good and the bad ones.   
Jesus was pretty good at taking care of himself, so there was no reason for the angel to intervene.   
He did still stay in the area just in case someone decided to be an idiot. 

-

Jesus began to do more and more sermon(preaching about being good to each other and turn the other cheek were one of the angel's favorite), and more and more people began to follow him. Aziraphale even saw Crawly from time to time around these sermons hiding between the women of the people. He didn't walk over to the demon since he was beginning to notice a lot more of angel activity around the area.   
It was beginning to be too dangerous for the demon to be around. 

-

Aziraphale noticed something about Jesus a little year after he began using his powers more. He never did them to show he was the Son of God.  
  
Many books and people in later years will tell this too, but the man never said he was.   
The people believed he was, and some of them began to ask him to prove this.  
Jesus simply refused. But he still showed he was incredibly powerful when he healed people from fatal sickness or blindness. Turned water into wine, walking on water(it was more he were standing on a slap of ice, but the humans around him didn't know this little fact); he helped barren land to grow food again and even raising a man up from the dead.

A lot of the Death angels had looked very nervous when he did that. Their leader, Azrael, has looked at Aziraphale with concern. 

It was also under these healing he met a woman called Mary Magdalene, who was one of his most loyal followers of the women. Aziraphale did notice that Jesus did spend some personal time with this woman, so he had a feeling they were in some sort of relationship.   
The other angels were not happy with this when Aziraphale felt obligated to tell them, and the poor angel was forced to tell Jesus to stop meeting Mary alone.   
Jesus was not happy about this, of course. But he promised to stop meeting with the women alone, but he will not drive her away just because the angels said so.   
Aziraphale accepted this and hoped the other angels did so too. 

-

The last day was soon upon them all, and Aziraphale leads Jesus dutifully to a synagogue where his disciples and many of his followers thought he would speak to some other Holy men of the town.   
In reality, the human was going to meet the angels, and he should start the war today with them behind him.   
The end was near.

Inside the synagogue, all the leaders of each command of Heaven were inside. Most of them were Seraphim, but some of them were also of the two other races. Those who were inside were;  
Yesod. Leader of the Messenger angels. Gabriel was one of them who took orders from her. She has orange wings and dark skin. 

Hod also have dark skin, but his wings were dark purple. He is the Leader of the Crusader angels. Michael was under his command together with other warrior angels. But Micheal was the most known of his commanding officers.  
  
Chesed. Guardians angels. They were also sometimes called the angels of love, but since the angels were unable to feel love, they pretty much just protect the mortal being they are told to protect.   
Chesed wings started off a golden and ended in a sunset red. The reverse of what Raphael's wings used to be.

Azrael. Death angels. She was one of the only Archangel in the room, and she sat in a corner for herself. Her eyes were just a clear as Aziraphale under her dark hood. 

Temeluchus. She and an avenging angel, and were an Archangel too. A lot of her angles were cast out, but few of them were still left. Aziraphale avoided those angels as the plague itself since they were sometimes just as bad as the demons.   
Her skin was sickly white, and wings have the same color as burning fire. 

Metatron. Leader of the Scripture angels. Like Azrael, he was sitting in a corner and waited for the whole meeting to begin, but unlike the Archangel, he didn't have the same glint in his eyes. 

Shodan(white-yellow wings and Archangel). The leader of the Archangel,   
and Kerubiel; The leader of the Cherubim 

Tiferret, who was the leader of the Healer angels, and last but not least, there were Seraphiel, the leader of all Seraphim, and hold the highest rank of all the other angels. He was sitting in the middle of the room and looked expectantly at Jesus.

While walking Jesus into the middle of the room, Aziraphale notices that all of them have taken a more human appearance.   
Jesus walked up in front of Seraphiel and looked determined at the Seraphim. 

“You can go,” Seraphiel said dismissively to Aziraphale. 

Aziraphale's heart told him to stay beside Jesus, but with so many angels looking at him, he stepped back to walk away. 

“ _I would like him to stay,_ ” Jesus said. All of the angels looked at him. They have not expected that. “ _he has been my teacher for all of my years; that is what you at least can do for him for his loyalty to him._ ”

“ _He has no place in this circle,_ ” Tiferret said. 

“ _Then he is in my circle,_ ” Jesus said hard, “ _let him stay._ ”

“ _As you wish,_ ” Seraphiel waved his hand dismissive at Aziraphale, quickly walked over to sit beside Azrael, who was the only angel in the room who did not send hard glare after him. The Seraphim continued like he had not been interrupted   
“ _now, we will talk about the end time for the wicked demons. They need to fall for the-_ ”

“ _You are aware of what would happen to Earth if you go into war with the demons?_ ” Jesus cuts in. He didn't care the higher ranking angels were glaring at him “ _War comes to every nation first. then Famines, Pestilences, and Death._ ”

Aziraphale moved a bit nervous. Azrael leaned over to him and whispered;

“They want me to lead the four horsemen.”

“Those things are going to leave the whole country barren,” Aziraphale whispered back. Azrael nodded back with the same concern in her eyes as Aziraphale felt. 

“ _We are aware of this-_ ” Seraphiel dismissed, but Jesus was not done.

“ _Earthquakes, lightning, and fire on every land. The sun will be swallowed, and darkness will rule_.”

“ _The demons will be the cause of this enteral night,_ ” Hod said while showing off his sword, “ _we will stop them._ ”

“ _Will you?_ ” Jesus demanded, “ _you will all empty the ocean, and it will be filled with the blood of every angel and demon. You will all be the stars falling to the ground, and Heaven and Hell will be no more._ ”

“Oh, God...” Aziraphale did not like the sound of that. Was that the war would do to Earth? He has no strong bond to this planet(yet), but just the thought of so much bloodshed makes him queasy. Even the Death angel looked terrified at that type of future for the Natoque race. 

“ _ **Enough!** This war shall start!_” Seraphiel snarled at the human. All of his brown-yellow wings appeared behind him, “ _it is written, and you will call the angels to battle against the evil! you are the son of God, and therefore you WILL do your duty._ ”

“ _I am not the son of God. I am the son of Joseph and Mary. Born under a glowing star in Bethlehem and a loyal follower to our God!_ ” Jesus shouted back, “ _I am Jesus of Nazareth, and I will never start your war there will bring Armageddon!_ ” 

Silence. 

All of the angels were in shock over what just happened. 

The first to break the silence where Metatron;  
“ _You cannot do that. It is written!_ ”

“ _Then let God strike me down for disobeying his order,_ ” Jesus said and pointed his hand to the sky. Some of the angels looked at the roof of the synagogue like they expected the human to be hit by lightning.

But nothing happened. 

Which only enrage the leader of the angels even more. 

“ _You will regret this mortal. How dare you to demand God to listen to you and how dare you to go against Her word_ ” Seraphiel snarled. Jesus did not even blink at his anger. The Seraphim turned and gave a flinching Aziraphale a death glare “you will be punished for this Aziraphale-”

“ _He has nothing to do with my choices. Leave him out of this,_ ” Jesus said seriously. He took a step towards the high ranking angel to make him stop scaring Aziraphale. “ _I am the one who goes against your duty. No one else._ ”

Most of the angels looked forth and back between each other.   
Finally, Temeluchus took an angry step toward the human.

“ _Then prepare yourself to go against God's plan. You will die a painful death for stopping what is written_ ” the Avenging angel said with pure malice in her red eyes, “ _it will happen no matter if you like it or not, mortal._ ”

“ _I will prevent it as long as I can... you have my word on that,”_ he said back calmly. He watched how nearly all of the angels gave him one last angry look before they all blitzed away. He was then alone with only Aziraphale left, who quickly walked over to him.

“ _Jesus!_ ” Aziraphale said with fear clear in his voice, “ _what have you done?_ ”

“ _The right thing,_ ” Jesus said calmly. His eyes still hold the determination, but now they also have a small hint of fear in them for the dark future he have to face. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- 

Crawly watched from afar how Jesus and his disciples walked inside Jerusalem and were greeted by people who knew about the powerful man. Crawly did not dare to come closer to the man and greet him like a friend anymore. He could see Lucifer, who stood beside him, didn't dare to do that either. 

The demons have been made aware that the war has been chancel by Jesus, and they were pissed. A lot of them were lurking around the city to get their acts of revenge on the human by any means necessary.  
And Crawly knew even if the other demons could not touch Jesus directly due to him be just as powerful as any Natoque. It didn't mean that the demons could be stopped to tempt humans to do their dirty job. 

He stayed away, but he did see Lucifer talking to Jesus for a little while, and a later, he saw the other demon leading another human away. Crawly could not see who it was, but he had a feeling it was someone Jesus wanted to see before the demons or the angels got to him. 

He didn't see Lucifer for eight years after that day. 

-

Crawly saw Aziraphale still protecting the human while he was eating with his disciples. Crawly looked a bit around, and he saw at least four other demons in the area. He went over to each of them and talked them out to attack the lone angel since it was clear that the Savior and angel have teamed up one last time.   
The demons left, but he knew the demon Mammon have been tempting one of Jesus's disciples. He just hoped that this disciple was not easily tempted by the demon of greed. 

-

Crawly knew Jesus was going to be betrayed later that night. He saw Mammon making a successful tempting on Judas and decided to warn Jesus and the angel about this betrayal while Jesus was walking with some of his human friends. The demon has the form of a snake while waiting for the Savior to get a bit closer. To his annoyance, he saw Jesus sit down in a garden in the city with his friends, and they walked for a bit.   
Crawly watched how Jesus' three friends fall asleep far too quickly for it to be natural. The powerful human then walked away from them, and Crawly took his chance to warn him. He slighter over to him and up at the large stone he was sitting at. 

“ _Judasss have betrayed you,_ ” Crawly said, still in his snake form. 

“ _I know..._ ” Jesus said but did not move. 

“ _You kn- then what are you doing here? Get you arse of this sssstone and flee,_ ” the demon hissed and turned back to his demonic form: wings and all. 

“ _I can't..._ ”

“ _Why? Why don't you run? Why don't you try and save yourself? You are going to be killed if you stay here._ ” 

“ _1 or 1000,_ ” the demon looked at Jesus, confused when he said that. The human looked up at the demon with dull eyes “ _how many lives will you save? 1000 or one single man._ ”

“ _I'm a demon. I don't-_ ”

“ _Humor me._ ” 

Crawly looked up to the night sky. Cursing whoever of the Gods, who was nearby for making him say this. 

“ _.... The bigger number...._ ” the demon reluctantly said, _“you are the one person._ ”

“ _Yes.... my life for the rest of the world,_ ” Jesus said. He was scared, there was no denying in that and yet; the stayed put “ _.... a fair trade..._ ”

“ _My dear boy, there is nothing fair about this_ ” both of them looked to the side was Aziraphale came walking up to them.

“ _Please, both of you. Listen,_ ” both Natoque looked at him. None of them were happy about all of this. “ _my spirit is strong.... but my flesh is weak. I am very scared of dying_ ” Jesus was shaking, he looked sick, and his usually powerful looking eyes were now dull and yet still hold a determined to face his fate   
“ _I will go through with this because I will not watch my parents, my siblings, my friends or everyone else I love will die so I can live_ ” both Crawly and Aziraphale lowered their heads somberly “ _please, stay with me until I need to face my death_ ”

Crawly watched Aziraphale hugged the human tight. Crawly was maybe a demon, but being a second parental figure to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, he learned to accept physical touch as much as the angel. He sat beside Jesus and held the human while weep in silence.   
Both Natoque did not let go of him and didn't care how much he cried. 

-

The demon was not sure how long they sat with Jesus, but he peaked up when he heard more than one person come inside the garden. 

“Angel, we need to go,” he said to the angel. He knew they could not be seen. None of their lots would be happy about that. He tried to touch Aziraphale's back, but the angel's wings flared up in retaliation. 

“no! I can't,” he cried and looked pleadingly at Jesus “ _please don't do this._ ”

“ _I have to, Aziraphale,_ ” Jesus whispered and kissed the angel in the forehead. His own version of a blessing “ _Goodbye._ ”   
Crawly used all his force to pull the distraught angel with him.  
“ _keep him safe, Serpent of Eden_ ” he heard the Savior call after him.  
He looked back over his shoulders. He, too, felt tears in his eyes for letting the human do this. 

But Jesus chooses this.

“ _I promise,_ ” he said, and he blitzed him and Aziraphale outside the city. The angel was still trying to claw his way out of his iron grip. He ended up forcefully hugging the angel to make him stop struggling. “I'm sorry, Aziraphale, I'm sorry.”

“ **It isn't fair!** ” Aziraphale cried, and he finally hugged the demon back with the saddest sob he has ever heard from the angel. He was an ugly crier, but the demon didn't care at the moment.

“I know,” Crawly could not hold his own tears back anymore, and he buries his face into the angel's shoulder in search of comfort, “I know.” 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**planet Earth**

**33 ad**

**Golgotha**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aziraphale watched all of it. How people who did not like the poor man mocked him, tortured him, and even decided to make his death as humiliating and slow as possible.   
The crucifixion was a cruel tool for both of these things, and it also mocked the God of those who followed the world of the bible.   
The angel didn't look away when two Roman soldiers hammered nails into the poor man's hands and feet.   
  
Jesus cried in agony.  
  
He felt Crawly circle up beside him, none of them talked. They already knew why the other was here. The family and friends of Jesus cried in silence while he was hung up on the cross.   
When he cried out in pain, Aziraphale notices out of the corner of his eyes, and Crawly looks away. 

The angel didn't blame her for that. 

“Why don't they save him...?” the demon suddenly whisper. Her voice was full of anger and confusion “they gave him this gift from birth, and this is how they let him die?” 

“I don't know...” Aziraphale admitted sadly.

“Do you think they even care?” Crawly asked and looked intensely at the angel. Aziraphale didn't know what to say to this, and they both stood in silence again for a very long time.   
Many began to notice that the sun began to dimmer like a solar eclipse.   
Both immortals looked up and the cross and saw how the life drained out of the eyes of the Savior.   
Everyone screamed when a distraught roar was heard in the sky. Those who looked up saw something giant flying in the sky, and it gave up a Holy light.

“.... I think they cry... just like us,” Aziraphale whispered while looking at a grieving God. He heard a Roman man wail in fear that they did kill a son of God. The Creator in the sky disappeared, and the sun returned, and every human standing around were unsure what to do next until the soldiers decided to bring the body of Jesus down before enrage 'God' even more. 

“Jussstice is best ssserved cold” Crawly hissed under his breath while they watched the body being carried away “those who killed the poor man will be cursed for doing this to a favorite and the great empire of Rome will fall. Mark my words.” 

“I know...I know,” Aziraphale agreed, and both of them ended up going their separate ways when the sun disappeared on the horizon. 

-

Aziraphale went to the Grave of Jesus together with Mary Magdalene and Jesus' mother. Aziraphale has told both women that after this, he needed to leave the country.   
It was just too hard for him to stay after everything there have happened. 

When they reached the tomb of Jesus, the two women were in shock when they saw the stone in front of the tomb has been moved. Mary immaterially ran off to tell some of the men in the city about this. Aziraphale told Magdalene somberly to follow the older women.   
When he was alone, he walked closer to the opened tomb and saw a demon with brown-black wings came out of the tomb with something in their hand. 

It was a human soul. 

In a panic, Aziraphale began to walk faster toward the demon before they would leave. Someone grabbed his shoulder to make him stay.

“Don't,” the angel whipped around and looked at Crawly, who refused to look at him. 

“We need to stop them, they will-” 

“Abaddon was ordered to come today,” she said.   
The angel stopped fighting her grip and looked accusing at her. Behind the angel, the demon disappeared into a portal to Hell.

“You knew of this?”

“I was ordered to make sure he got the soul,” Crawly said bitterly “they will try again, and next time, they will make sure the Anti-Christ will be on Hell's side.”

“Again?! Next time?!” the angel gasped, horrifying “when?” 

“Not sure. When the time feels right, or when Hell has managed to control the soul of him” Crawly shrugged “he will be reborn but he will not-”

“-Be on Heaven's side,” Aziraphale finished. Both of them looked at the empty tomb. To the angel's dismay, he could smell a small hint of Hellfire inside of the tomb. The demon most have erased all signs of Jesus just in case, “what are we going to do, Crawly?”

“Crowley,” the demon said. Aziraphale gave her a 'what are you talking about?' look, and the demon added, “Decided to change my name. Crawly sounded a bit too squirm' ish if you asked me.”

“Well, you are a snake, what's that you do,” the angel said matter of fact. He has never seen a reason to change his name, so he didn't fully understand the need to get a new name. But he knew he would get used to the new name... with time.   
“What going to happen next... Crowley?” he asked with a little sigh.

“Not sure. The end of the Earth was supposed to happen, and yet it didn't,” Crowley said. She looked back, and Aziraphale followed her look to see humans came running towards them. The humans have not seen them yet, “guess we have to prepare for the next big one.”

“I think we most,” Aziraphale agreed. He looked at the demon with a little smile “till next time?”

“till next time, Aziraphale,” Crowley said.

Both of them took back to their own domain.   
The world didn't end, and it will not end for the next 2000 years. 

But that is a story for another day and another time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading Genesis. I am working on the next work called Reformation but I would like to hear from you what you like to see in this book, it would help me greatly.

**Author's Note:**

> if you have any questions, I will answer them the best I can in the next chapter.


End file.
